5:30 PM: Catheris mette Orial had somewhere to be. He made use of the forgotten servant halls, and quickly cut through the mansion. He wiped his face with his long silk sleeve, suddenly conscious of his beautiful bride image today.
Suddenly, something tugged at his forearm; the ink in his veins began to flare up in response to ink in the vicinity.
'Ari?'
He turned back and saw a tall, cloaked figure approaching him.
Oh saintess – he was already done with this man for today, why couldn't it be the other–
"My my my… who do we have here?" The other said in a nasally, pretentious voice.
…
"I'll bite your neck off – you dog."
"So you do remember me."
Catheris dragged the other down to eye level by the hood, but some sort of illusion concealed his identity; all he could see was fog covering a Mr. Disguised Beo's eyes.
The cloaked figure cooed, "What's this?"
"Where is Ari?"
"Who…?"
–Still in character, hm?
"The head's aide."
"Ah… hm??? Let me think."
Catheris gave him a mild thwack on the cheek.
"Owie."
'As if any shame could get past that thick skin of yours.'
Catheris gave him a slightly harder thwack.
"Ow–"
Catheris struck him again.
"Hey, hey, hey– let's be civil and sort this out with your words… repeat after me, 'I feel angry because you did blank–' AHHH—"
Hitting him wasn't going to lessen his whiny tone, so he aimed for his ears, pinching them so hard that they turned white.
"Speak now or forever hold your peace…" Catheris muttered underneath his breath.
"..."
It seemed that he was… frozen in pain?
…
Why was he acting like Catheris kicked him in the balls…
…
"Ugh…" The cloaked figure slumped forward and groaned on the top of Catheris' head.
"You can't pass out on me yet… Uhh." Catheris gave him another thwack on the cheek for good measure.
"Hold on… mercy…"
"Where is he?"
"Dunno… probably doing outsider stuff – Mr. Aide was invited as a normal guest, so he's on break."
Catheris was pretty much ready to kick him to the curb after getting an answer. But for some reason, the other stuck around.
Tsk tsk tsk… no good, no good, he had places to be.
"What do you want?"
"Hm… well, I have a wedding gift for you here, widow."
Catheris looked at him with a certain madness in his eyes — that could only be described as tweaking out.
"Uh huh, uh huh?"
"Why of course, it's your big day after all." He reached into the back of his hood and pulled out a small envelope tied to a thread.
Too small to be money…
"...What's this?"
"You know, a little party popper."
"Do they look like this nowadays?"
"Yeah, yeah. Please pop it when the ceremony begins." His slight lilt emphasized 'ceremony.'
"That seems rather disruptive for a wedding, don't you think?"
"No, no. It'll be a fun, fun, fun surprise so don't question it. Please pop the popper by pulling on the thread~"
"It seems like it'd be quickly confiscated, quite frankly."
"Yes. I am aware. That's why I thought ahead."
He inched closer and closer, yet for some reason, Catheris couldn't find it in him to step backwards. He pulled Catheris' hanfu open for a slight crack — and quickly pushed the envelope into his chest.
"Please pop the party popper when the ceremony starts."
Eh???
"Huh–"
Catheris scanned the narrow hallway, but damn, he must've jumped out a window, or something… The thread matched his hanfu's, it was hidden as a loose thread.
He tucked it in so a servant wouldn't notice, and he awkwardly reflected on the ordeal in silence while walking.
5:50 PM:
"You're here." Sian looked like a puppy you only gave two kibble to.
Catheris had just gotten to the balcony, yet this guy already seemed pissy…
Confused at the look Sian gave him, Catheris closed the door behind him.
"Is this not the time we agreed upon yesterday?"
"...What were you doing with Mr. Kelcer?" He practically pouted.
"Nothing important, why do you ask?"
"Nothing important?"
"Yes, I was rather curious about one of the late hosts, Alexei Gardenia. I figured he looked like an art enthusiast, and that I had a good shot at him knowing Gardenia."
"You were rather touchy with that man."
"Yes?"
"...I don't like it."
"I was just being cordial. I didn't think of it much more than a gentleman's courtesy, so I accepted it."
"Still…" Sian looked at him with downturned puppy eyes.
He was much more obedient than a certain other dog he knew…
"We're quite close to starting time, aren't we? It's at 6:00 pm, no?"
"You actually have until 6:30, some people are chronically late, so the planning did account for that."
"I see."
"Mn…" Sian affectionately nuzzled into Catheris' palm.
"So… why did you want to meet? I thought you already had things figured out. Why invite me all the way out here?"
"Isn't it obvious? A little peace before everything would be nice."
"Yes — before you burn the mansion down." Catheris took in a fresh breath of air and turned away from the other to look at the sky.
"Mm…" Sian closed his eyes, taking a lock of Catheris's wavy black hair and smelling it.
Sian began to hum.
"I know… it sounds shallow when I say it… but, I mean it with my heart when I say I - love - you" He said with little pauses – all cutesy. His voice was gentle, awfully gentle.
"Well, I'll be the one to judge whether or not you hold that statement up."
Oh saintess – was this how he seemed when he seduced older men back in college? No… Catheris was sure he was more sly in his tactics…
It was a bit sad to see, quite frankly. He could see the genuine terror in Sian's eyes and the sheer soft spot he had for Catheris. It was no manipulation on Sian's end, rather an odd, uncanny attraction.
"How long do you think it'll take for the fire to spread?"
"Shouldn't be too long, I've already set things across the mansion. Maybe 20 minutes before it hits the venue? It wouldn't be good if it were caught early… when they do sense it – it'll practically engulf half the mansion. When that does happen, sit still. I'll be there to get you."
"When will that be? I don't want to suddenly panic."
"A bit before the ceremony? 10-20 minutes. The actual ritual is at 7:30, I don't want to risk it." The younger snuggled into the top of Catheris' head, hugging his neck.
"So, what's your favorite color…?" Sian awkwardly began.
"Personally, I think black's the prettiest. And yours?"
"People always assume it's purple because of my eyes. It's really just orange, though. You ask me a question now."
"...Have you been on your first date yet?" Catheris cooed.
6:30 PM: The venue was like a chapel in a grandiose ballroom. Heavenly amber light poured in from the large circular window. Long, delicate silk curtains draped from the ceiling, enveloping the room like a weeping willow's leaves. Dozens of white chrysanthemum and white lily arrangements made the occasion look like some fairy utopia. Even the funeral wreaths were made to look enchanting.
Catheris was sitting near the edge of the room, adamant on not touching the alcohol this time.
But there was never a name or a face shown of this supposed "dead man"
It was another level of sadism, leaving intentional bits of foreshadowing for the widows' inevitable fate. How cruel, the few that must've noticed by now probably hadn't even suspected a thing, because who does that?
Apparently, he didn't know until now, but a widow could choose whether or not she wanted to practice a dance for the wedding. There was a beautiful dance going on in a circle – all of the dancers wore flower crowns and white, flowy dresses. It was a lovely performance, but Catheris couldn't shake off the feeling that this was insane foreshadowing… the choreography looked insanely ritualistic when knowing what he knew.
'When are they gonna bring out the food…'
Catheris didn't understand how weddings in the cult worked, but he probably wasn't gonna get any anytime soon, judging by the others having a pre-wedding meal.
Staving his hunger off, (when and why did it come back…) he observed the guests. After all, they'd only gotten to such a dangerous point because the Bureau insisted on gathering intel. They were dressed well, clean-cut rich folk who didn't seem odd – they could pass as the average Virosian. Unlike the dead-fish-eyed servants he'd seen, they had a sharp, predatory glint in their eyes. They looked at the dancers as if they were prey, like stalking serpents.
Oh fuck, was that one of his clients across from him? Wait, he made that suit—
6:45 PM: Catheris' brain was numb from the bland formalities, the mood in the venue could only be described as stale. Even the guests were fiddling with their wedding pamphlet, occasionally going back to see when the ordeal would end, so they'd have something at least to stimulate their minds. Of course, for the widows, this was their once-in-a-lifetime chance; they sat there impressed and absolutely enchanted. Only a few more minutes, and then he'd be rescued like a damsel in distress…
Beo was probably in the room with him in disguise, but it wasn't appropriate to use his ink to sense for him right now.
6:50 PM: A mini play had just wrapped up. It must've been fun to practice for sure – seeing how giddy the girls were. Though — the planners could have brainstormed some better entertainment to supplement the usual fun wedding couple activities. They were rich, they could simply hire a psychic for Alexei Gardenia's ghost, buy an ouija board, or a magic 8 ball, even.
The widows were curious about what was going to happen next. Since it was the big wedding day, everyone suddenly became so tight-knit, and began sharing what time their performances would be, but nobody spoke up for this timeslot.
'Eh..?'
The grand entrance of the venue slowly creaked, and a head full of short, messy dandelion hair peeked out.
The girl looked like a shell of her former self. Her skin was drained, and those enlarged mutant dandelion irises were practically bulging; they threatened to consume the sclera.
Like a caught animal, she anxiously skittered across the floor with a bouquet of a variety of almost-blooming spring flowers. The petals were stuck in their bulb, ready to fan out – some were already beginning to fan out, like unborn fetuses.
As she made her way across the venue, her veil unraveled and revealed its length – it was absurdly long. The hundreds of embroidered dandelions on it fluttered with her every movement. She began chanting something rapidly, which sounded like muttering.
She dashed to the end of the venue to the white lily arch and began one-sidedly conversing with the 'event person' who oversaw everything. To Catheris, it was more like she was reporting to them, while on the verge of fainting.
The room quickly fell silent.
"Ahem, ahem!" One of the guests rose from his chair — the old man he saw with Ari.
He began tapping his glass of white wine with a spoon.
"We have a very important announcement! Please, have a break while the others prepare themselves for the news."
Oh saintess.
"It's… probably the will…" The girl next to Catheris said.
7:00 PM: After 10 minutes, the same man stood up again and tapped his wine glass; the room hushed.
"I will have my buddy take it from here; it is the one and only ceremony you've been waiting for!"
Catheris watched the others dive for their pamphlets, looking a little funny when they looked at the itinerary.
Clearing up the confusion, the man hummed, "Yes, that ceremony. I would be very thankful if everyone would kindly stand."
Confused, Catheris was still sitting down later than the rest and reluctantly rose to his feet. His hand was before his chest, unsure of where to rest it.
His index finger and thumb hovered over the 'loose' thread.