There was a strange irony to this day. It was the middle of December; the Winter Festival, traditionally spent with one's family in their familial home, where winter rationing was ignored for a single day whilst all of Hell awaited the winter solstice, and the return of the sun, just for a moment. A blip of hope in the middle of the bleakest month of the year.
And yet Cobalt stood in a room by himself, far from home, feeling completely hopeless. He gazed at himself in the mirror, frowning as he readjusted his tie. He had been given a bowtie to wear with his white wedding suit, but he refused to wear it, instead preferring his own tie. One final act of defiance, perhaps, before resigning himself to his fate as a mob husband.
At the very least, Izzbelle seemed to have calmed down. When they awoke that morning, she didn't even spit any vitriol at him, or threaten to break his legs if he looked at her at any point. She seemed more relaxed since their talk, like she had finally figured something out for herself. Breakfast was peaceful enough; it was the last he saw of her before they were split up for the wedding preparations. Though he was told that Corris was going to be helping him, nobody had seen the boss' advisor all day, and thus he was attended to by a gaggle of Lorenzo's maidservants.
"Keep your chin up, sir; I need to get your hair right."
"We'll need to adjust this jacket. If you feel a pinch, that's just the needle slipping."
"Have you memorised your vows, sir? Mr. Suyas insists you take some flashcards with you."
It was like that all day. It didn't help that they were all Oni so they each towered above him and had no trouble jostling him about.
Eventually, as the light waned, the maids left him alone in a small dressing room, to await the upcoming ceremony. There he stood, staring at a floor-length mirror as the minutes ticked by.
"By my blood, I take thee as my... w- wife..." he recited, shaking all over.
Despite all the adjustments made by the servants, it still itched. Both it and his shirt had been made in such a way that the electric collar around his neck wasn't visible, though he could still feel the prongs biting into his skin. In one jacket pocket lay a mass of flashcards; vows penned by Lorenzo himself, which he would no doubt be pressured to recite as his own. And in the other...
A small box containing a polished iron ring, to be presented to Izzbelle as she present hers to him. Normally, the engaged couple would attend the forging of the rings themselves, whereupon they would mix their own blood into the molten metal. But without the blood... the ring held no meaning.
"By your blood, I make a pledge of devotion to thee..."
Swallowing hard, Cobalt pocketed the ring box and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"By our blood, we bind ourselves in chains of love, to weather all manners of storms..."
This wasn't a day he ever imagined would come for him. He didn't know what to think.
Cobalt just felt... lost. He could hear the sounds of guests bustling in the great central hall, and yet he felt a thousand miles away.
There was a knock on the door.
"Hello? I- I mean, come in!" he stammered, nearly choking on his own tongue.
The door slid open, revealing none other than Jezebel Trayer, his own mother. She had spared no expense with dressing herself up for the occasion; she looked like she belonged on the red carpet with a lovely black dress and a matching fascinator. As soon as she saw her son, she nearly burst into tears.
"Oh, snookums...!" she squealed, immediately lunging for her son.
Entrapping him in a very chesty hug, the Succubus rocked him back and forth, threatening to tear his head clean off his shoulders.
"Mom, please...!" choked the Incubus, desperately tapping out of her suffocating embrace.
"I knew having those girls stay over would lead to something happening! I'm so proud of you!"
"I- It's not like that!"
Pulling himself out of Jezebel's arms, he took a moment to gasp for breath. Blowing her nose into a handkerchief, the Succubus beamed at her son.
"It was such a shock when Lorenzo sent the invites over! Oh, your sisters were completely thrown for a loop!" she exclaimed.
Cobalt's eyes widened.
"Are... they here too?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course! And their plus ones!"
"What?"
"Scarlet brought her travel partner, and Viridi's here with a girl she's sweet on. They're in matching dresses; it's adorable! Azul couldn't think of anyone to bring, so she's here by herself. As for Violet, well... she won't say it, but I think she's not on speaking terms with any of her main squeezes at the moment... But Amber certainly made up for them in that regard! Silly girl brought all six of her fuckbuddies!"
Wincing, the Incubus held his hands to his ears.
"Mom, I didn't need to know that!" he cried, desperately trying to scrub that information from his brain.
"Don't be so coy, snookums; they're lovely people! They'd have to be, considering how demanding our Amber can be, the little pillow princess-!"
"Mom!"
She burst out into a fit of laughter, only to interrupt herself with a sudden gasp of realisation.
"Oh! I almost forgot!"
Delving into her clutch bag, the Succubus bit her lip, brow furrowed with concentration as she rooted through the hodgepodge of random things she kept within. With a triumphant cluck of her tongue, she produced a small stoppered bottle, filled with glowing orange fluid.
"Here you are! Since your lovely girlies came to visit, I've been getting back into the swing of alchemy!"
He nervously accepted the vial, eying it up suspiciously as it lay in the centre of his palm. Nothing good ever happened when Jezebel Trayer got her alembic out, especially not when it came to the matter of her children. Far too many times had she slipped some homemade aphrodisiacs into Cobalt's food, hoping to give him that push he needed to finally "open up to himself." He quickly caught on to her plots, and typically thwarted his mother's schemes by slipping his tainted food into a napkin beneath the table, before disposing of it in the bin.
Initially, he swapped his meal for Azul's, but this backfired massively when she spent the entire night desperately trying to get into his room. Unable to get past his lock, she just stood outside the door for hours, panting loudly and grinding herself against the door handle.
To say it was a traumatising experience was a massive understatement.
But this liquid didn't appear to be any kind of aphrodisiac, at least not one he was familiar with. It was more viscous than most Succubus brews, and smelled strongly of banana.
"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just something I used to make for the girls whenever they went out on dates. It's an extremely potent invigoration mixture, with a little spice added to stave off fatigue and give you some pep!"
Jezebel's pleasant smile became markedly more lurid as she leaned in close.
"You know... for the wedding night...!" she mock-whispered, winking.
Cobalt recoiled, nearly dropping the vial and tripping over a nearby chair. Shoving the alchemical concoction into his trouser pocket, he gave her a dirty glare.
"For hellfire's sake, could you please stop saying such things?!" he cried.
"What? She's an Oni, isn't she? I heard they bang like tigers; all broken beds and bruised butts!" laughed his mother.
Her eyes widened.
"Oop. Don't tell Lorenzo I was talking about his little girl like that, alright snookums?"
The Incubus shook his head and sighed, disgusted by Jezebel's lack of tact. Her son was getting forcefully married off, and yet there she stood, joking about such base subject, completely unbothered by the fact that she was going to be absorbed into a crime family.
He frowned. There was something about how she spoke so casually about the dreaded Parricidio that irked him. She referred to him by is first name, for a start, and seemed almost too comfortable in the Suyas estate.
"You seem close with Lorenzo..." Cobalt murmured, turning his gaze away from his exuberant mother.
She chuckled wistfully.
"Well, I knew him back in the day. We were all going through a rough patch, and-"
"Was he friends with an Incubus?"
As soon as he spoke those words, Jezebel's smile faded, only to be replaced by a strange wistful glint in her eye as she stared into the middle distance for a moment.
"Briefly," she sighed, wringing her hands.
Cobalt wanted to ask more questions, but at that moment his mother shook her head and took a deep breath, he smile returning almost as quickly as it had disappeared. Taking her son's hands, she looked deep into his eyes.
"Don't be scared, snookums. I know you're going to make an excellent husband."
"Mom, I-"
"Shh," she said, placing a finger on his lips, "don't worry so much, okay? You'll be fine."
Brushing his fringe aside, Jezebel leaned in and planted a reassuring kiss on the Incubus' forehead, before giving him one last smile and stepping out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.
No matter how many times he ran it through his head, he just couldn't properly comprehend the fact that this was his last few moments as a single man. That in just a couple of minutes, he was going to be married.
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It was terrifying.
He heard a knock at the door.
"Forget something, Mom?" he called.
"It's a bit early to be callin' me that," replied a familiar voice.
Cobalt nearly leaped out of his skin as Aelda Suyas opened the door, dressed from head to toe in snazzy formalwear. Her arms were tightly folded, and she was steadily drumming her fingers.
"M- Mrs. Suyas, I'm so sorry!" the Incubus stammered, stepping back to give the Oni room.
She smiled and shrugged.
"No harm done. Are you ready?"
He swallowed hard and gave himself one final glance in the mirror.
"I- I suppose so..."
Nodding slowly, Aelda grabbed the nearby chair and took a seat, looking lost in thought for a moment.
"You know, this clan means the world to me. Took a lot of negotiatin' to get the Sulfur Bloods and the Sixth Family to meld the way they did, and I'm proud of Izzbelle for bein' livin' proof of that success."
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a quartet of batteries and dropped them at Cobalt's feet.
"But as much as I love the clan, I love my daughter more. And I'm not about to force her into doin' somethin' she doesn't wanna do."
Cobalt stared at the batteries, confused.
"I- I don't understand..."
"You don't have to. I gave her this same little chat. Just know that whether you marry or don't, I'm standin' by your decision. Not as a clan leader, but as a mother. You get me?"
He blinked a few times.
"Um..."
"Alright then. Good luck. You're gonna need it," Aelda concluded sharply, getting back to her feet.
As she opened the door, the Oni gave Cobalt one final look.
"Just be ready to run if you have to."
With that, she shut the door. Alone in the dressing room, Cobalt swallowed hard and sat himself down on the chair, shaking hands clasped in front of him. He nervously tugged at his collar, before looking up at the mirror.
"By my blood..."
-----
"Nervous, son?"
Cobalt looked up from his flashcards, bewildered. The officiant - a stout Golem man in dark grey robes - was giving him a concerned look from behind the altar. Forcing on a smile, the Incubus nodded.
"I- I suppose I am," he stammered, trying to play it cool.
The minister smiled.
"Perfectly understandable. Don't worry; it's very difficult to mess up a wedding. Just say your lines and you'll be fine."
Nodding shakily, he glanced back down at the cards in his hands. The vows written upon them were all fairly bland and stereotypical. Apparently Lorenzo didn't trust him to come up with any of his own...
Pocketing the cards, he turned around and took in his surroundings, head throbbing in time to the clamouring of the crowd.
The wedding hall was a breathtaking sight to behold. Garlands of red and white roses draped the stone walls, whilst the braziers had been fed with special fuel, causing them to burn with brilliant silver flames. A trio of chandeliers had been installed onto the ceiling, each filled with dozens upon dozens of crimson candles, illuminating the rows of padded seats that took up a majority of the hall. Over in one shaded nook, the wedding cake stood proudly, next to the silver axe that the new couple was to cut it with once the ceremony was over. On the other side of the hall, the organist leaned against his instrument of choice, sneaking sips from a hipflask when he thought nobody was looking.
The seats themselves were filled with all sorts of individuals. Many were gangsters that Cobalt had seen around the compound, but many more were complete strangers to him, likely Oni on Aelda's side of the family, visiting from New York. A small percentage of the crowd were Succubi; Cobalt's own family. Most of his sisters were deep in conversation with their plus ones or members of Izzbelle's extended family, save for Azul, who was too busy crying at the sight of her brother. She was bawling into Jezebel's lap, who just smiled and waved at her son.
On the other side of the crowd sat Aelda, the seat next to her lying empty. Lorenzo was probably with Izzbelle.
His wife-to-be. It still didn't seem real.
"Get it together, Trayer... Get it together..." he chanted to himself, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to force his heart to stop hammering so quickly.
He had to face facts. He was getting married! The day was here! He was standing at the alter, for crying out loud! For better or for worse, he was going to be integrated into the Suyas family. It didn't matter anymore that it was against his will. It didn't matter that Viola more or less sold him out to the Sulfur Bloods.
What mattered was Izzbelle, and how she was feeling. If she didn't turn up at the altar, he would understand perfectly.
But if she did...
Well... he just had to face facts and try to be the best husband he could, didn't he? Whatever the outcome, he told Izzbelle that they would face it together.
For better or for worse.
He heard the shuffling of feet. The lowering of voices. The stifled gasps of wonder.
The organist began to play a slow bridal march.
His heart began to beat faster and faster, but for better or for worse, he swallowed his fear and turned around, fists clenched resolutely.
Cobalt had never really seen Izzbelle in anything other than casual sportswear or her school uniform, both of which she had torn the sleeves off to give her impressive musculature room. He always had her pinned as a rough, coarse kind of woman, one who didn't give a damn what anybody thought about her, and gave even less of a toss what she looked like. He liked that about her; it was a kind of brash bravery that he direly wished he could find in himself.
But for all he found pleasant about the Oni, he never once stopped to consider just how beautiful she was.
Her dress was like nothing he had ever seen; snow-white fabric and blood-red thread, interwoven into a breathtaking garment that was every bit a work of art as it was an item of clothing. Its sleeveless design left her arms exposed as she liked them, showing off the silver amulets she wore around her wrists. The dress skirt reached the very floor, and if it weren't for the definite sound of her footsteps, Cobalt could have sworn that she was floating. Izzbelle's face was covered by a magnificent veil, and in her hands she clutched a bouquet of tearthorn roses; universal symbols of loyalty.
Her father - dressed in a pristine suit - slowly walked alongside her up the aisle, eyes locked with Cobalt's. In his pocket, Cobalt could see the square shape of the electric collar's remote. It seemed Lorenzo was leaving nothing to chance.
As the bridal march drew to a close, the Oni took her place beside Cobalt, whereupon she turned to face him expectantly. Urged on by a polite cough from the officiant, he reached forward and gently lifted her veil.
Izzbelle's face had been touched up with some light makeup, but that wasn't what took his breath away. It was simply seeing her up close that enraptured the Incubus, causing his knees to nearly buckle in awe of her amazonian grace. A silver circlet encircled her horn, and as he stared on, her orange cheeks grew slightly redder.
It was strange seeing her like this. A face normally twisted with anger or irritation, looking so...
"Beautiful..." Cobalt murmured, letting his inner thoughts slip before he even realised.
"Sh- Shut up," Izzbelle replied quietly, fumbling with her flowers.
She glanced him up and down.
"You don't exactly look like shit yourself."
Cobalt smiled despite himself. Nodding to the pair, Lorenzo whispered a few words to minister before he returned to his place by his wife, hand hovering just above the remote in his pocket.
"I trust we're all settled?" called the minister.
A general murmur of affirmation rose from the crowd.
"Very well then. Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, Hellborne and Earthborne alike... We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the two demons that stand before you, Izzbelle Francisca Suyas and Cobalt Atticus Trayer," he announced, raising a hand as he opened the skinbound book on the altar.
"Francisca?" breathed the Incubus, raising an eyebrow.
He almost yelped as the Oni kicked his foot.
"Not a fuckin' word," Izzbelle hissed.
"As it was written in the Book of Aneop, unions are made and solidified by the blood we pour into them. Shared sufferance, soothed by companionship. As we ministers atone for our wretched lives through the nine tailed lash, those who marry atone by facing not only their own hardships, but the hardships of those they love. It is a most serious bond."
Cobalt kept his head down as the officiant read from the book. He had forgotten just how stark the Hellish belief system was. It wasn't a religion per se, but rather the generally accepted idea that demons were created as icons of sin, and that they are still atoning for their own corrupted existences through their acts in the present day.
Different from Earth faiths in that demons know exactly who their creator is, and they know for a fact that he is not someone to be worshipped...
"Hey. Quit zonin' out," whispered Izzbelle.
"Sorry, mind's wandering," he replied, wringing his hands.
The Oni nodded slowly.
"Yeah... mine too...
Slowly - minute by sluggish minute - the ceremony dragged on, fraying Cobalt's nerves with every moment he stood there in front of the altar. He could feel the gazes of their combined families burning into the back of his neck, and the electric collar didn't do much to help ease that discomfort.
The rings were presented. Readings were read. Passages from the Book were recited.
After what felt like hours, the time finally came.
"Before we bind these two sinners in matrimonial union, I would invite them both to speak their vows. Whenever you're ready," spoke the minister, bowing and taking a step back.
They both looked at each other for a moment, before Izzbelle cleared her throat and pulled a flashcard from her dress. It appeared that Lorenzo didn't exactly trust her either.
"Cobalt, I..." she began, holding the card up.
She went silent as her face darkened. Suddenly baring her teeth, Izzbelle caused the flashcard to abruptly burst into flames, much to the shock of all those watching. As the ash fell to the floor, the Oni whipped around to face her parents.
"If I'm gonna be doin' this, then I'm sayin' what I wanna say," she announced defiantly, jabbing a thumb at her chest.
Turning to Cobalt, she planted her hands on her hips.
"Cobalt, when I first met you, I fuckin' hated you."
A unanimous gasp of shock arose from the crowd, but one furious glare from the bride shut them all up.
"Or at least I wanted to. I saw that you were a Lust demon, and what with my experiences, I was dyin' for a chance to just..."
She made a threatening choking gesture, causing Cobalt to blanch. What was she doing?
"So I made an ass of myself. I was used to it, just sittin' at the back and slingin' abuse, like I did last year. In fact, it got to the point then that Mr. Whitaker just gave up on me."
Taking a deep breath, Izzbelle sighed.
"But you didn't, did you?"
Just as Cobalt thought she was calming down, however, the fire returned to her eyes.
"Gah! Why'd you have to go and mess everythin' up like that?! I wanted you to be an asshole! Or some fuckin' creep! Or anythin' to give me a good reason to kick your teeth in!"
She threw her arms up.
"But what the fuck did you go and do?! You went and tried. I put you through pure hellfire and you kept trying. You kept helpin' me even when I didn't want help, and if you couldn't do it, you got one of the girls to. I- I mean... I never had... Jelli and Karazelle and them... it was nice, you know...?"
Again, she took a moment to calm herself. The entire wedding hall was deathly silent.
"And that wasn't enough for you either, was it? No, not a fuckin' chance. You kept throwin' yourself in the firin' line, even goin' so far as to try and help me. Like really help me. And even when I had you by the throat and I was ready to just fuckin' crush it into a thousand tiny fuckin' pieces...!" Izzbelle roared, smoke eking from the corners of her mouth.
The Oni gasped for breath as she got herself all worked up.
"You just kept at it! Sayin' that I didn't have to keep fightin'! Sayin' that I wasn't alone! Sayin' shit that I'm only gettin' now! Fuck!"
She roughly kicked the altar, snapping the table leg and causing the entire thing to topple to the floor.
"Because of that, I found myself actually fuckin' likin' you, Cobalt! Do you have any idea how damn hard that is?! I've got enough shit on my plate without havin' to deal with you! Even now, do you realise what the fuck I'm tryin' to tell you?!" she cried, grabbing the Incubus' shoulders.
She lifted him clean off his feet, causing both of them to tremble. Though her teeth glinted in the firelight and her eyes were ablaze, he could see tears forming.
"For fucks sake; I love you, dumbass! I love you, you stupid fuckin' idiot!"
Her words struck him like a bullet. Even when Izzbelle let go of him, Cobalt just stood there, eyes wide, frozen with shock.
"Ever since that night in front of the dorms! Every little stupid thing about you is just...! How you were so idiotically selfless?! The way you didn't fuckin' quit?! Your voice, your eyes; even the way your fuckin' wings flutter is-!"
She cut herself off with an almighty howl of rage. People in the crowd were murmuring worriedly, but nobody seemed willing to interrupt her lovestruck rampage.
"I- I'm sick of hidin' it! So I'm lettin' you know now! Do you understand me, dumbass?!"
Cobalt's heart was going a thousand miles an hour, hammering so fast that he could barely feel it. His brain didn't process Izzbelle's words; he just stared at her, confused.
"I- I- Izzbelle, I- I-...!" he guttered, shaking all over.
"Argh! Just shut up, okay?!"
Grabbing him by the tie, the Oni dragged him close and kissed him.
She was stronger than him, to the point where Cobalt more or less fell into her arms, whereupon she took him by the cheek and locked her lips with his. Her skin was so warm, the Incubus felt as though he was mere putty in her hands. They stayed like that for a moment; silent, bound together in an impassioned embrace.
Eventually, Izzbelle broke the kiss, leaving him stunned.
"Now do you get it, dumbass...?" she whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks.
On the other side of the broken alter, the minister nervously cleared his throat.
"M- Miss Suyas, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, the kiss doesn't come until later," he explained softly, taking care not to make any sudden movements.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at him.
"Then ain't it damn shame there's not gonna be any 'later'...!"
Hoisting Cobalt to his feet, the Oni raised her foot and roughly kicked the minister in the chest, knocking him back over the ruined altar. Before anybody knew what was going on, she grabbed the Incubus' wrist and rushed down the aisle, trailing him behind her.
"Izzbelle, stop!" barked Lorenzo Suyas, getting out of his seat.
Cobalt watched in horror as he pulled the remote from his pocket and hit the button. He braced for the electric shock, but when nothing happened, he was struck by a sudden realisation. The batteries...
Aelda sabotaged the remote...?
"Wh- What's going on?!" the Incubus cried, nearly stumbling over his feet.
Smashing through the door, Izzbelle shot him an infuriated look.
"We're gettin' the fuck outta here, dumbass!"