Red was always a my least favourite colour.
There was a lot of things it was supposed to represent and there was countless metaphors surrounding it - most of which, I never understood.
It could have meant almost anything, depending on how you looked at it. Anger, pain, death... Love.
But that was not why I despised it.
I despised the colour, red, because it reminded me of blood. And blood, was the one thing that haunted me forever.
Seeing the bright red roses in the garden, triggered painful memories that I had spent decades trying to forget. It made my stomach churn nauseously, forcing me to suppress my sickness.
"Delilah?"
It was all I needed. His voice was enough to make any thoughts disappear. The way Ben said my name, made all my pain disappear, faster than it had arrived.
"I don't mean to sound typical, but you look beautiful."
It made my still heart beat faster than it had when I was alive.
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding," I murmured, blushing.
"Or what? Am I to be damned?" His lips tilted upwards smile. I looked into his deep green eyes and found it impossible to look away. "Delilah, I was already destined to hell when I fell in love with you."
I would have died time and time again, just to see him smile like that forever.
"Someone like you would never be in hell, Ben."
The clock struck twelve, beckoning us towards the wedding altar.
"I'm sorry," I told him. He gave me a confused look. "You've been a devote Christian, ever since before I met you. I realise you probably wanted to have your wedding at a church. But you couldn't. Because of... What I am."
"You know, you tend to say really stupid things," Ben smiled. "But that doesn't change how much I love you. I would marry you, even if the wedding was in hell."
I had never told him that I loved him back, yet I had lost count of how many times he uttered the three words.
He loved me unconditionally...
A flash of red went through my mind, bringing back the familiar nausea. I didn't deserve someone like him.
A recording of the famous wedding tune blared out of the speakers, as we walked down the aisle, past the empty rows of seats. It didn't make any difference that there wasn't anyone watching. There didn't have to be anyone.
"You came," he said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up to see his younger sister, Belle, smiling at us.
"Well, someone had to come, for it to be official."
"But mother and father-"
I ran up the the aisle and wrapped my arms around her. She staggered back in shock from how quickly I had moved towards her.
"Thank you," I looked into her soft green eyes and couldn't help but smile gently. "Thank you for being here, Belle."
"Anything for my future sister-in-law," her smile widened, as she turned to Ben. "Will you let me unite the two of you?"
"Of course," he answered.
"Come on then," she called, leaping up to the platform and tossing a handful of flower petals in the air. Laughing, we both followed her up to the altar. "Are you both ready?"
"Yes," he whispered, stealing a glance at me. I nodded slightly, my face flushing.
"Today is the day... The day I unite two hearts that already beat as one. I've never met a pair like you two; complementing each other and making up for your flaws. I'd say made for each other, except humans aren't made, are they? Ben, you were born, not made. You were born from the same womb as me. I couldn't be more proud about how much of a good human being you are. And... Your good choice in a life partner. Delilah, even though you were made inhuman, your still human, deep down. You were made, but you were made for him." She looked at us both solemnly, before bursting out with uncontrollable laughter. "Okay, you both know that I suck at serious situations... I either crack up or start crying."
"That was beautiful," I murmured. Any uncertainties I had about marrying Ben had vanished with her words.
For several moments, Ben and I stared at each other, remembering our time together.
"Bloody hell," Belle groaned. "Say your vows before I grow old."
"R-right," Ben stuttered, taking a deep breath. "I was born and brought up in a family of devote Christians. As a result of it, I was taught never to sin; never to do anything that could potentially upset God. But the moment I met you, I didn't care about anything. I didn't care about going to hell or being damned. I fell in love with a Vampire... People say that supernatural creatures are sent to hell and since I've made the sin of falling in love you, I'll go to hell. I'll be with you forever."
"Ben," I whispered, feeling tears trickle down my face. "In my last life, when I was human... My lover... He was the one who ended my life and made me turn. I spent decades afterwards, as a Vampire, drunk on my own pain and viciously slaughtering others to try block it out. When I met you, I intended to kill you as I did with others who crossed my path, but couldn't. Instead, I fell in love with you..."
Then I saw it... A tear trickling down his cheek. I saw Ben cry for the first time.
"Benjamin Davis, do you take Delilah Fanning as you lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" Belle asked.
"I do."
"Delilah Fanning, do you take Benjamin Davis as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
At the mention of death, I saw the colour red in my mind, again... But it no longer sickened me. Seeing it, only made me think of how much I loved him.
"I do," I answered, glancing at Ben with a smile. "Although in our case, death won't do us part."
ns 15.158.61.55da2
