Vur and Tafel sat with their hands held together. Occasionally, Tafel would lean over and whisper something in Vur’s ear, causing him to chuckle or nod. Compared to them, the other humans weren’t as relaxed. For some reason, they had been separated due to a social-distancing policy implemented to prevent disease from spreading. That would’ve been fine and understandable if it weren’t for the fact there were at least five skeletons seated between every human. The skeletons were sitting, but they didn’t have any seats; their knees were bent at a ninety-degree angle while their butts sat on air.

Gregory glanced at the skeleton sitting beside him. He was a bit jealous of its ability to remain seated in the air for so long. How strong would his leg muscles have to be to accomplish a similar feat? After thinking for a bit, he shook his head. Of course, the skeleton wouldn’t get tired of sitting on the air; it didn’t have any leg muscles in the first place.

“Now presenting, the father of the groom!” a skeleton said from one of the archways leading into the venue.

Tafel and Vur exchanged glances with one another. “Did you know Mr. Skelly had a dad?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Vur shook his head. “Never met him before.” He shrugged. “There’s a lot we don’t know about Mr. Skelly and Alice.”

“You’re right,” Tafel said. She wasn’t the maid of honor, and Vur wasn’t the best man. Despite them being party members, they really hadn’t been in her life for that long. Tafel looked around. Since the wedding was starting, that meant everyone was here. “Do you think Mary got lost?”

“Yes.”

Tafel scratched her head before shrugging. She had been out of contact with Mary for quite some time now. The armored woman had run off, and no matter how many times Tafel checked in on her home, the response was always the same: Mary hadn’t returned yet. Well, the directionally challenged woman was strong. Even if she got lost, she’d be fine.

Vur tugged on Tafel’s arm, causing the demon to turn her head towards the aisle. A carpet had been laid out on the grass, parting the sea of skeletons. A skeleton was walking down the aisle. It was wearing a suit similar to the ones the rest of the skeletons had on. In fact, the only way to tell it apart from the others was the fact it didn’t have any hair.

Tafel raised an eyebrow. For some reason, the skeleton seemed familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. She noticed Vur’s nose twitching. He was sniffing the air. Upon seeing Tafel’s gaze, Vur stopped and furrowed his brow. “Mr. Skelly’s dad reminds me of Auntie.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Tafel rubbed her chin. “All the skeletons here were reanimated thanks to Auntie’s and Grimmy’s skills, right? Maybe there’s some residual mana of hers lingering around. Perhaps Mr. Skelly’s dad was freshly revived.”

Vur shrugged. Soon, Mr. Skelly’s dad finished walking down the aisle and took a seat on the empty chair in the row ahead of Vur and Tafel. Vur leaned forward and tapped on the skeleton’s shoulder. “Auntie?”

The skeleton turned its head. Through its eye sockets, Vur saw the faintest hints of a dress. If he had to take a guess, he’d say there was a fairy hiding within the skeleton’s skull. “Keep quiet,” the skeleton said. “How did you recognize me?”

Vur whispered to Tafel, “I knew it.”

Tafel furrowed her brow and gestured at Lindyss, who was disguised as a skeleton. “Why are you…?”

“I don’t want to be recognized,” Lindyss said. “So, tell me, how did you recognize me?” She shifted her skull to glance at the dragons laying around at the side of the venue. She exhaled upon seeing their disinterest in her. Clearly, her disguise fooled the dragons, but why did it fail when it came to Vur?

“Was it her smell?” Tafel asked Vur before nodding at Lindyss. “He’s really good at smelling people.”

Vur shook his head. “You look like how you would look like if you didn’t have any flesh.”

Lindyss frowned and poked around her eye sockets. “Didn’t I tell you to polymorph me into a male skeleton?”

Erin’s voice came out of the skull. “Aren’t all skeletons gender-neutral…?”

“…No.”

Erin snorted. “Well, I’m not a doctor, okay? I’m a fairy queen! Why would I know obscure facts about skeletons?”

“You said you knew what I meant.”

“I always say that,” Erin said. Tafel could easily imagine the fairy queen puffing her chest out despite not being able to see her. “How can a queen admit to not knowing something? I know everything even when I don’t.”

Lindyss exhaled. If she still had flesh, her expression would’ve been a sight to behold. She shook her head. Luckily, Grimmy didn’t recognize her despite her skeletal frame being the same.

“Are you Mr. Skelly’s father?” Vur asked.

“Didn’t you read a lot of books when you were younger?” Lindyss asked, her skull contorting as she furrowed her brow. “Why are you asking stupid questions now? How can I be Mr. Skelly’s father? This is just a disguise; I’m hiding from Grimmy, so don’t blow my cover. If he asks….” Lindyss’ voice trailed off. Vur never lied. Could he cooperate with her to fool a dragon? “If he asks, just pretend he didn’t ask and talk something else instead, okay?”

Vur scratched his nose. “Okay, Auntie.”

Lindyss eye socket twitched. “Don’t call me that when I’m undercover.”

“Okay, …Papa Skelly.”

A snicker echoed out of Lindyss’ skull. “Papa Skelly, he-he.”

“You shut up too,” Lindyss said. “Do you think Grimmy won’t recognize you? He’s not like other dragons. He remembers the faces of the creatures around him even if he acts like he doesn’t.”

Erin coughed. “Silent, that’s me,” she said. “You won’t hear me let out a single peep from now on, but I would just like to say now that I still think this is a terrible idea, and I reserve the right to say, ‘I told you so,’ later when we get caught and possibly eaten.”