Day 13
13, October 2218
**Mexico City, Mexico**
Mexico, Region 2
Inside the former Mexican president's office. Oscar Mariano was in the middle of talking to both Roxane and Benjamin in a live feed face-time conference. The main topic of discussion with these two regional leaders centered on his marriage to Menja, his infernal imp wife-to-be, that is happening today.
"So you're going to go through with this, Oscar? You're going to get married to that little...woman?" Benjamin asked apprehensively.
"Leave him alone, Benjamin. He's doing it because he loves her. I only wish my partner had the same desire as he did. I have to force him to show me some form of affection." Roxane said chiming in.
"It's not like I don't love Menja. I do love her. It's taken some time for me to come to accept this. She can be funny and exciting when she wants to. At other times she can be a little scary and downright controlling. But she doesn't do anything to physically hurt me. I don't think that's what she wants to do or even thinks about doing to me. Plus it wasn't my idea to get married. It was hers. She says it's needed before we can start a family."
Roxane furrowed her brows. "What is that supposed to mean, Oscar? Something doesn't sound right."
"She didn't tell me specifically what it means. But if she says it's important, then I'm going to believe her and will wait for her to tell me what she meant by that after consummating the marriage. So the plan is to have you two attend our wedding via live feed face-time. Since we can't leave our regions, this is the only way this going to work for the time being."
"If you're going to get married today, where's your tuxedo brother?" Benjamin wondered.
"Menja said she would send for someone to help me with that. I still don't know what she meant by that. I'll just have to wait and see." There was a knock on his door when he finished saying that. He looked over toward the door and responded, "Give me a moment!"
"Listen, guys, I think that might be my tuxedo waiting for me. So far you two are the only ones who accepted this live feed face-time wedding invite. I'll contact you two again when the ceremony starts. Also, can you two please try to get the other humans to accept my invites? I don't know why they rejected them."
"I don't get it either, Oscar" Benjamin spoke. "But I have a feeling it may be their nonhuman partners who told them not to accept your invitations."
"What makes you say that?"
"Some of them may not like you anymore. Maybe after what your partner said in your introductory video about her plans, made enemies out of them."
Benjamin's words rang with truth inside of Oscar's head. "I knew what she said would cause problems. But I didn't think it would create enemies for us."
"She sounded pretty serious to me, Oscar," Roxane said very ominously.
The knocking on the door got even louder, turning into banging. Oscar bid his two allies goodbye and turned off his Light-Based phone. He stood up from his seat and went over to answer the door.
Standing on the other side of the door was a creature similar to a zombie in appearance. Its flesh was rotted with muscles and tissue hanging off of its limbs. Parts of its skeleton were showing on its body. The zombie which could not speak held Oscar's clothes on its raised forearm. It was a pair of black trousers. Red stand-up collar dress shirt. A black brushed cotton vest with a silver pocket watch chain accessory. A black tie. A silky sash with black and red bands. There was a red occult sigil in the middle of the sash. It was most likely Menja's sigil. A black Cahill hat. Black gloves. A black frock coat and an ethereal red ember flame decoration appeared on the left breast of his coat after putting on all the pieces of his wedding clothes with the help of his zombie butler.
Oscar took several times looking over at himself in a mirror inside of the office. He couldn't believe how handsome and dapper he looked right now. But this was not a tuxedo. Then again, this wasn't a normal wedding either. And his bride was not a normal woman. Nor was she human either. The ethereal ember flame was a nice touch though. It radiated light but no amazing heat. The zombie standing beside him tapped him on his shoulder and gestured him to follow him.
Oscar looked at himself to see how he looked and asked the zombie. "Where is the wedding taking place? Is it going to be inside of the palace?"
The zombie nodded his head. He couldn't speak but he could still communicate through gestures such as that. "Okay hombre, lead the way." Oscar followed the zombie to the location inside the national palace.
For as long as he was living inside of the national palace. There are rooms in the national palace that even he was not aware of. For one thing, there was an old throne room that, once he walked inside, took his breath away when he saw how opulently dark it was decorated by Menja. When one thinks about a royal room like a throne room. One thought of those photos on the internet of rooms with white or red walls with embroidered carpets on the floor. Arched ceiling with a mural on it too. Hanging chandeliers. Glossy marble tiled floors and the all too important thrones themselves, probably placed on an elevated platform with stairs leading up to them.
This throne room's walls were obsidian black. The floor was maroon tiled with black rugs and golden trimmings on its sides lying on top of the floor. The ceiling had an infernal mural depicting Menja as the sole infernal creature remaining, with Oscar by her side and her belly looking very swollen with future heirs. It was a hellish image but one that oddly, did not terrify him as it should have. The last monarchs Mexico ever knew were Maximilian I and Charlotte of Mexico, who reigned during the Second Mexican Empire before being dethroned and the monarchy abolished. It appeared Menja had a desire to raise the dead empire back under new monarchs.
Oscar walked over to the base of the steps leading to the thrones sitting atop a raised platform. There were two crowns made of shiny black steel, encrusted with rubies and diamonds around its base. The crown's upper sections were shaped like horns. Sending the message that this was not a regular human wedding or a wedding sanctioned ever to be approved by God himself. He turned on the phones he was going to use to contact Benjamin and Roxane. He video-called them and placed the phones down on some chairs Menja placed in front of the spot where they were to be married. The American's face appeared on the screen of the phone, and so did the Frenchwoman's shortly after. Even though they could not be there to attend his wedding in person. Both of the other human guests felt the need to dress up out of respect for the wedding and marriage.
The man of the hour waited by his spot and watched the zombie butler walk away and crumble into dirt and ashes that disappeared into nothingness. The aisle where Menja would be walking down was laid out with a black rug with golden trimmings on its sides. Burning braziers were lined vertically outside of the black rug, leading up to the base of the raised platform. The lights from the hanging chandeliers above dimmed on their own. The only lights beaming brightly were from the phones facing Oscar, the bridegroom's burning ethereal ember, and the braziers.
The woman of the hour came walking inside. She was wearing a veil made of fire and something that looked like a black dress, only this 'dress' was made entirely of solid black fire that let off flickering flames. Although the dress wasn't made up of the normal color of fire, it still brightened up the dimly lit throne room. All of this was still so odd to Oscar. Menja was a three-foot-tall imp from hell. When he met her for the first time, her hair was frizzy and unkempt. Half of her hair hung down one side of her face, covering one eye and leaving only the other one exposed. She smelled of sulfur, a god-awful smell. But after getting dolled up. The former marine couldn't believe he was seeing the same imp he met thirteen days ago.
Her hair was styled in a fishtail hairstyle. Her two big doe-eyes were on full show for him to look at.
In her hands, she held not a traditional bouquet. Instead, she held onto a large bouquet of dead flowers whose petals were on fire and smoking. They seemed to burn and smoke indefinitely without the flowers turning to ashes. There was no piano or organ to play her in as she walked down the aisle over to him. Only silence rung between them. But he looked happy and satisfied with her. Benjamin and Roxane watched the infernal imp make her way to her betrothed. They stared back at one another, held hands, and turned to face the thrones. With a wave of her hand, Menja raised a skeleton dressed as an archbishop only with darker clothing and no crucifix on its miter or clothing.
The infernal archbishop raised its lowered face and summoned an infernal bible in its bony hands out of flames in the space between its raised hands. It coughed into its closed bony hand first, then spoke in a baritone voice.
"Dearly beloved sinners and children of fallen grace, we are gathered here today in the presence of these two witnesses, to join Menja, imp, and queen of hell, and Oscar Mariano, human and future king of hell in dark infernal matrimony commended to honorable between the both of them. It was my queen's wish to marry her to this human for the sole purpose of his continued safety and existence after their children are born. Cambions can be very violent to their human parent if they do not, see that they are spiritually united to their infernal parent via marriage or a blood contract. And two, not corrupted with enough sin to guarantee they are not a target of their own children's violence and temptations. If there is any soul here now that feels these two should not be joined together -- let them speak now or else they can go straight to hell with their opinion."
"Nyahahahaha!" Menja laughed, high-fiving her summoned archbishop. Oscar rolled his eyes and just kept staring back at her.
"And now for your wedding vows. Who would like to go first?"
"I think you should go first Menja," Oscar said to her.
"No, no. You go first" Menja replied.
"I Oscar Mariano take you, Menja, the last imp from hell, to be my wife, my friend, my faithful partner, my love, and my goddess from this point forward. In the presence of these two witnesses, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner and follower in sickness and in health-"
"...I'm immortal though, deathless actually. Nyahaha. But go on." Menja muttered and giggled to herself.
"-in good times and in bad, in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in all of your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long we both shall live."
Although the vow was standard. Menja felt the sincerity of each word in Oscar's voice. She blushed deeply. She watched a small blue-white light emanating from his chest. It sparkled like a diamond ring in the sun. At first, the light came out of him like a glob of Elmer's glue.
