Where there lay peace trouble always brewed, at least such was common place in Matthew's life. Nothing could ever be simple, no moment ever rewarded with a reprieve from danger. No, Matthew Campbell had willingly stepped into a lion's den and he was destined to pay the price for it. What price only the seers could determine, but the only trouble was, the seers were the very thing he had to survive.

Aamon Athanatos' glare left that lingering watching feeling that caused the back of your hair to stand alert; an early warning sign that safety was not a guarantee, or even a possibility. From his peripheral vision, that had absolutely nothing to do with looking at Gideon who stood along side him, he felt the dangerous lure of hunting eyes locking him in place. Aamon was watching him, typically the most pronounced definition of civility the Athanatos brood had to offer Matthew was surprised to see his face so twisted. Humour attempted to guise his fury with a mocking tone but his eyes burned in rage. A rage one would only know from personal experience.

It seemed that no matter what Matthew did the boy had marked him as trouble. In fairness, perhaps the princely git was right, but he was certainly not the monster the pompous prat had painted him to be. Perhaps he didn't get everything right, perhaps he did choose poorly and hurt those around him, but there was no intention behind his mistakes. No choice was made, it was simply his folly and curse. Still, Matthew had to clear his mind of him. In fact, he had to clear his mind of every Athanatos for they could all rot in hell as far as he was concerned. At least Winnie was to be a pride for an Athanatos.

"Not Pride, Athanatos"

Whoever was writing this deranged story seriously needed to be fired. Matthew couldn't fight the fact his face turned sheet white nor could he hide the nauseating feeling in his stomach. Winnie, pink croc lover was about to become one of them, one of the people who tormented him day and night and willingly no less. Suddenly the accents of pink against the gothic marvel felt sinister and clashing. The church itself took on darker hues and the shadows seemed to watch more closely. Something strange possessed the cathedral and many others seemed to sense it too.

Then all too soon, the binding was made, the contract drawn and Matthew watched as a girl who complimented his crocs became another risk threatening to topple him. Two Athanatos were forged in that ceremony and Matthew couldn't help but feel he was more attending a funeral than a wedding. The death of Winnie Harper had once seemed virtuous, but now he wondered if she would survive such a transition. Much like himself, she had entered the lion's den, and as such there was no judgement. Simply fear. Fear that if he listened to the stupidity within, he would make equally catastrophic decisions.

With a flash of green his worries were dashed and the nausea masked by the verdant touch. The reception was beginning but while others were curious to dine and gauge themselves on riches they could hardly dream of Matthew was distracted by his instincts. It wasn't the voice itself he recognised but the tone. Gideon's harsh words could cut a room like it was nothing but air in his way. He was a force of nature that had corrupted and designed itself into a weapon. The fury itself was not directed his way, as it once had been, but towards another. Another who had warned him of this threat. Another he swore was touched with the same Athanatos darkness. Yet another who had helped him. Someone who deserved the favour repaid.

Turning to his father he spoke quickly, "Walk into the flames I guess? Oh and whatever you do, don't talk to anyone that looks like an Athanatos! There's someone I need to repay." Matthew had never seen a floo network before let alone experienced one but he was no stranger to the complexities of magic. Magic school for a muggleborn was like joining a school across the world where everyone is fluent except yourself, harrowing but propelling. Unfamiliar magic had to be accepted without question and adaptation became a form of existence. Thus, despite everything his family had ever taught him; Matthew was going to throw himself into the flames.

Bolting towards the sickly flicker of flame he felt himself stopped under the sudden unwelcome influence of the youngest pup. Aamon Athanatos, once again proving to be the thorn he thoroughly did not need in his thigh. Flustered by his appearance he barely managed to utter a syllable before the walking pile of smug fled. Such annoyance only fanned the flame that had sparked within him and he drove it home towards the flame disappearing like ash in the wind.

Taylor was in trouble and needed protecting; but she wouldn't be the only one.

The ceremony both seemed to drag on for hours and also be over in ten minutes, moving far too fast for Aly's taste, though that had seemed to be a common theme in her friend's relationship. At least @Dealla Prince was there beside her, a solid force of protection as usual, and the supportive @Evelynn Decipio on the other side, as Winnie's mum gave her away, sold her daughter to the devils. The priest, probably as ancient as time itself and draped in some of the oddest robes Aly had ever seen, began to drone on about how marriage itself was older than love. It was almost ironic, considering how there was no love lost here - sure, @Winnie Athanatos and @Mathias Pride may have been as besotted with each other as teenagers could be, but their relationship had been so tinged and soured by the many happenings within that it just seemed fitting to remind the audience gathered here that the joining of two souls in holy matrimony did not always need and had not always needed to require passion in order to occur. And those were only the things of which Aly knew: certain perfume bottles, certain pushes. There were probably more, though she tried not to think about it.

To describe a wedding as a sacrifice would have normally felt off, but in this case, it seemed appropriate.

Aly's eyes wandered out to the gathered spectators, dressed in their finery and with faces ranging in emotion from pleasantly excited to shocked and horrified. Some folks were better than hiding what they truly thought of such a ceremony than others. Many of the attendees were young, likely Hogwarts students, though there were only a handful whose visages seemed familiar to the young Ravenclaw: @Opeila Winters being the most notable, with her shock of pure white hair quite visible amongst the pews of strangers, and @Cassius Eden nearby, a friend to the entire bride's side of the wedding party. Several professors were also in attendance. Truly, this must have been the event of the century to tear some of them away from the Scottish castle of olde.

The vows started, and Aly tore her gaze away from the audience to listen in but then immediately regretted that decision. To hear her beloved friend's soon-to-be-husband declare out loud that he did not intend to offer Winnie peace or safety was truly a horrifying thing. She tried to catch a glimpse of Winnie's face, but the redhead's back was turned to her, facing her fiancé; still, she could see Mathias's, and the look in his eyes sent a shiver down Aly's spine. For all he had done for Winnie, he had done twice as much to her. Even as Winnie spoke, or rather stuttered, through her vows, even as she promised her future and her very being to Mathias, the elder Ravenclaw cast a pleading glance out into the audience, locking eyes with Opeila, and for a moment it seemed that the girls, so tumultuously far apart and no longer truly friends since the embarrassing Headliner incident the previous November, shared a moment of understanding. This was just so simply wrong. Everything about it seemed a trap. And yet still, Pei did not stand, she did not speak. No one did. In fact, it seemed almost as if the whole world was standing completely frozen, entirely silent.

Aly was suddenly emboldened by the realisation: she could not let Winnie marry this man. Even if she were to get hexed about seventeen different times from all sides, someone had to object, and it didn't bloody look like anyone else was going to. Just as the priest said something about none infringing upon the union, not even really giving anyone a chance to object but rather just skipping over the notion that anyone should even dare entirely, Aly opened her mouth to speak, to shout, really, only to find that nothing was coming out. For a moment she didn't even realise that it had been a purposeful magicking, but only thought that her voice had broken at the very thought of Winnie marrying into such a family, marrying such a man. But no, no matter how hard she tried nothing came out - it had to be something else. Something stronger than fear, keeping her from speaking out against this.

Of course. They can't risk anyone doing anything. I should have known they'd be too smart for that.

And so Aly could do nothing, frozen to her spot and her vocal cords leading her astray, as the old patriarch announced Winnie's new last name, that Mathias was the new heir, taking over from the half-dead blonde @Vladimir Athanatos whom Aly had met at the Kolbeck ball the previous winter - as the priest declared them bound for eternity - as Aly began to make a mental note into looking into divorce lawyers - as murmurs began to abound and Mathias dipped Winnie into a deep, powerful, almost raptorial kiss and then had the audacity to proclaim, quite impudently, that if anyone had a problem with it they should have hexed him when he proposed. For once, Aly could not have agreed more with the Pride boy - no, the newly minted Athanatos. She should have done something about it a long time ago.

But it was too late now. (Well, unless any divorce lawyer wanted to take up the case. She hoped Winnie had signed a prenuptial agreement.)

Of course, the redheaded Ravenclaw squeaked out that her new husband had been joking - ever the mediator, Winnie knew just what to say - and then the ginger pair proceeded back down the aisle. Aly was the last to go, following down the procession behind Dee, and as she turned to walk down the aisle that once again stretched dangerously long and terrifyingly visible to all in front of her, her foot brushed against something on the floor. Aly looked down to find the flower crown that had topped the bride's head only moments before having fallen, disheveled and broken, much like Winnie was now almost certainly bound to be. Still, she stooped to pick it up before proceeding back down the aisle, practiced fingers weaving roses and small white sprays of baby's breath back into a crown that would only fall apart again if she were attacked in some way. She would get it back to Winnie at the reception, and like the crown, Aly would always be there to build her mate back up when Mathias broke her.

July 5^th, 2025 | bridesmaid dress | #C47DDB
Leaving for the ballroom.

“And if none should infringe upon this union,” the creepy priest said, and Dee opened her mouth. No, wait, she wanted to say (to scream, to shout), but nothing came out, not even a whisper. She felt dizzy, breathless. This whole event was a nightmare.

The rest of the ceremony flew by in what felt like seconds and hours. Too fast and too slow at the same time, the flow interrupted by shocks - the proclamation of Mathias' new name, Winnie's new name. The shattering of glass, a first kiss. Mathias mocking them, It's too late now.

Dee gasped for air, blinking, when the area around the altar burst into green flames, but she couldn't shake herself free of the horror. Winnie's words did nothing to lessen the dread in her stomach. "We're not getting her back, are we," she asked quietly, unsure if even Aly was listening. At least her voice was back. "They're never letting her go now."

Releasing Aly's hand, Dee mechanically reached up to detach the horrible puff sleeves, while more and more people stepped into the floo fire and disappeared. She needed a moment to collect herself - reorient, refocus, decide what to do. The ceremony was done, but the day wasn't over; and she'd made a promise to Winnie. No matter how twisted this wedding had become... she'd have Winnie's back, one way or another.

Leaving for Augurey Cloister.