Fire rushed down Vivian\u2019s throat and pooled in her\nstomach, soothing her nerves. After tonight, she would be someone\u2019s wife. She\u2019d\nnever been anyone\u2019s wife before. The tight, gnawing sensation returned to the\npit of her stomach. Just a nip never hurt anyone, her granny always said. She\u2019d\nonly had one nip. Over and over again. She took another sip from the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A scrape on the other side of the door had her\nhiding the bottle away and hurrying to the washroom to brush her teeth. She\nwanted to be minty fresh for their first kiss. For her first kiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVivian, darling?\u201d Her future mother-in-law called\nfrom the other side of the door before it squealed open, setting Vivian\u2019s teeth\non edge. \u201cYou\u2019re still in your robe? Darling, you\u2019re expected in the chapel in\nminutes! Come here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Vivian shed the robe upon command and allowed\nherself to be wrestled into the overly elaborate gown. Her curls threatened to\njostle free of the pins as the dress went over her head, but the matronly woman\u2019s\nmagic had her set to rights before leading her out of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They paused outside of the chapel doors where her\nsoon to be mother pressed a kiss to her cheek and sniffed. Vivian\u2019s heart\nfroze. It was just a nip. Surely her new mother could not smell it on her. The\nwoman said nothing, only reached up to pull the veil over Vivian\u2019s eyes so that\nit cascaded past her hands clasped in front of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She could smell the stale odor of cigarettes and\nhear the heavy off-cadence clomping of work boots long before her father\nrounded the corner, staggering to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her new mother left them with a tight smile. It was\nonly proper that her father be the one to hand her off, no matter how she would\nprefer that the stately woman have the honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were no compliments about her appearance, but\nwhen had he ever praised her? He thrust his arm at her. \u201cLet\u2019s get this over\nwith.\u201d With a flick of his hand the door swung open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once she married, she too could perform that magic\nas easily as breathing. Until she married, she carried it tight in her chest.\nTo use the magic without a bond was to let it drift loose into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the aisle was Olivia, her intended,\nwho looked radiant in her gown of ivory lace. Her father did not wish her luck\nor love and Vivian would not have believed him if he had. Instead he simply\nknelt, removing her shoes. She kept her head held high as he retreated with her\nfootwear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olivia held out her hand and Vivian took it with a\nquivering smile hidden behind the veil. Together they ascended the steps, their\nbare feet slapping against the wood. At the top of the platform was a bare\npatch of earth and together they stepped down. Vivian wiggled her toes, letting\nthe dirt creep between them. It was soft and loamy and the earthy smell\ncomforted her and reminded her of home. She felt the tension slide from her\nshoulders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The high priestess approached and they held out\ntheir clasped hands, allowing the priestess to wrap strands of vines about\ntheir arms, binding them together from knuckles to elbow. The vines trailed\ndown to the ground, brushing against the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the priestess read the marriage vows, the vines\nbegan to twist and bloom. Red pooled on their arms where the vines dug in deep,\nthe thorns piercing into their skin. Blood dripped to the earth and from the\nblood a vine grew, wrapping about Olivia\u2019s ankles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A vine did not grow around Vivian\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vine about her wrist squeezed harder. The earth\nat her feet grabbed at her ankles, pulling her deeper. She could move no more\nthan Olivia could. Fear hammered in her heart. But she could not cry out, could\nnot ask what was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe this was normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her arm throbbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She felt light headed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earth pulled at her and now she was buried to\nnear her knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And still the priestess invoked, summoning the earth\nto bless their union. To drink deeply from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earth bubbled and belched, releasing a noxious\ncloud into the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this was marriage, she\u2019d had a right to be\nnervous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vivian tried to work her legs free discreetly, but\nthe more she struggled, the faster she sank. Out of the corner of her eye, she\ncould see Olivia who was completely wrapped in vines, her head thrown back in\necstasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panic choked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How was it that Olivia with vines about her throat\ncould breathe while she, whose throat was free of vines, could not breathe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ground clutching her legs grew hard and cracked.\nEven the blood that continued to seep into it could not fill it with moisture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incantation ended abruptly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vines fell from their arms, turning to ash as it\ntouched the dirt and billowing in a cloud of smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis union is not blessed.\u201d The priestess\u2019s words\nwere sharp and accusatory. \u201cThe magic is incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olivia\u2019s hands tightened on hers, tugging Vivian\nfree of the scorched earth. \u201cBut the ceremony\u2026 we are wed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are wed, but not bound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olivia cupped Vivian\u2019s head with the back of her\nhand, leaning in and kissing her through their veils. \u201cMagic or no, you are\nmine and I am yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vivian returned her kiss, because to do anything\nelse would be to face the crowd who would surely know that it was her magic who\nfailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they kissed, she could feel her magic bubble in\nher core. Magic that was all hers. Magic that chased away the burn of alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wed but not bound, her magic was free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fire rushed down Vivian\u2019s throat and pooled in her stomach, soothing her nerves. After tonight, she would be someone\u2019s wife. She\u2019d never been anyone\u2019s wife before. The tight, gnawing sensation returned to the pit of her stomach. Just a nip never hurt anyone, her granny always said. She\u2019d only had one nip. Over and over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[318,422],"class_list":["post-11206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-drunk-powers","tag-flash-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}