71. Our Wedding Day

**Andrew**

From what he gathered, Jacobs was tasked with setting up the city hall for a show that would encourage investors from out of town to place their faith in Standrick, and hopefully convince them to aid in the betterment of the town while also raking in some cash. Andrew stepped out of his car, eyeing the building warily. Suddenly, he could see the rubble of what was left after the rogues destroyed their meeting place in London. Andrew turned to the driver and said, "Be on the lookout for anything funny. Remind the guys that too. Rogues like to pop in when they're not wanted."

Stephen nodded and drove off, leaving Andrew on his mother on the sidewalk as the man himself walked down the steps to approach them.

"My lady!" He opened his arms and embraced Justina, who in return hugged him and kissed both his cheeks. Andrew tried to smile, but found it hard to do.

"Mr. Jacobs," he greeted. Jacobs' swamp green eyes took in the young man. "Ah, young Lyon, pleasure to see you again after so long." He shook his hand with enthusiasm. "Come, come! We're burning daylight by standing out here doing nothing. Inside is much cooler and a hundred times more entertaining!"

The interior of the city hall was big enough to fit a circus, animals and all. Its white, graying walls had large pale snakes slithering up the stone columns. "This way, this way!" Jacobs instructed them. Andrew did his best to weave through the people that were busy setting up the venue. "It's good to have people here that I've known since I was a young man. To be honest, all the recent threats have been making me feel kind of shaky."

Andrew tilted his head as Jacobs brought them into a makeshift room composed of tall white curtains. "What threats?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Michelle." He called a young girl over. "Get the suits I've prepared for Sir Lyon."

"Yes, sir." She scurried off and disappeared into the next room. Jacob turned to Andrew and frowned. He looked at his mother, who only shrugged and stood to the side. She took her phone out of her Prada bag and within the next minute, music started playing. Jacob gestured to some seats. Andrew walked over and sat down, waiting as the older man occupied the seat beside him.

"But before that I must ask, how are you?" The young man's mouth fell open but he closed it quickly. Coby continued. "I may not know much, but I know that your marriage isn't by choice. Are you fine with that? Surely a young person such as yourself wouldn't be satisfied with such a thing."

He felt the sweat peel off his brow. Even in the boisterous rustle of the busy workers, Andrew could hear him quite clearly, though he wished he hadn't. Just when he thought he would somehow find a way to avoid responding to questions about his marriage, only to have it thrown directly to his face.

Maybe he could dance around the topic without answering. "Why would you say that?" He asked as if confused. He watched as Jacob sighed through his nostrils and reached into his coat pocket. Out emerged a phone, white and slim enough to fit in his hand.

"Don't get me wrong, young Andrew, I was never a romantic." He muttered. "Just a simply curious fellow. I can't help but think that when you're all dressed up in your gorgeous outfits, ready to take each other's hands and accept your rings, that there will be at least one moment where you'll think to yourself, 'what would it be like if it was a girl I truly loved standing in front of me. Would it also be like this.?'"

All of a sudden, Donya's form appeared in front of his eyes. Her stepping out from her changing room, asking him what he thought about the dresses. Would she be the type to prefer a traditional wedding? He wasn't but he'd be happy to provide that for her if it was what she wanted.

Andrew smiled gently, showing his teeth. His hand reached out and patted Coby on the shoulder. "What's meant to be will be eventually, won't it?" He says in a low tone. "Mariam is a nice girl. I have nothing to regret."

Coby Jacobs was a friend of his and his mom. In fact, he was one of the first persons to become close to them when they stepped out of poverty. But that wasn't enough to make Andrew spill his guts to the man. It was his belief that everyone was out for themselves. Even though there was doubt in him that Coby would do such a thing, there was nothing stopping him from spreading regarding his resistance to the marriage, putting both their families in an unpleasant position.

"Now, show me that video you were talking about. We don't have much time, do we?"

Coby simply ran a hand through his short, straw-like hair and passed him his phone. On the screen, a girl who couldn't be more than 20 with thick curly brown hair sat down in a well lit room. She wore a gray hoodie, the rest of her hidden from the video. He watched her take a deep breath, then she started speaking.

"Vampires are real," she said. "And they're here to hunt us down."

Andrews raised his eyebrow and looked at Jacobs. He shrugged. The account that the video was posted on was one he didn't recognise.

*itz_breezy_courtknee_*

She continued talking after a pause to sigh.

"I hate to tell you this but it's true. I'm sure you can see on my profile that my name is Courtney, well that's only an alias. As I was saying, vampires exist. In fact, I used to be a part of their cult before I woke up and managed to escape."

A part of him told him that to ignore it. After all, this Courtney girl sounded like just another Twilight obssessed fangirl who made posts like this one as a joke. But there was some things about her that drew his interest and kept him watching.

First it was her voice. It was so sqeaky and small. Each time she talked it felt as if she was forcing herself to speak louder. Another thing was her eyes, they were a rare combination of a clear green and blue that didn't blend together. There was someone else that shared those same qualities but he couldn't remember who.

"But sadly, my parents are still apart of it." Courtney lowered her head, her tanned hands clapsed over her nose as if she was praying for their safety. "However! A couple of people and I are dedicated, *dedicated*! To putting a stop to them! The vampires, of course, not my parents. That would be weird."

"Ignore it," Andrew said. "It's more or less some vampire fan girl who's posting this as some type of joke. If we have reasonable reason to believe she's a threat to us, then we will take it seriously. As for now, we're just wasting our time with this."

He tried to give it back to Jacobs but the other man just shook his head, lifting his arms to wave the phone away. "It's not just that. Later in the video she called the names of several other nobles in our midst. One of the names she dropped was the lady herself. Queen Elaine."

Something snapped in his memory. "Was one of the names she mentioned the Donalds."

As the other man shook his head.

That's what it was, that's what was bothering him. The fuzzy brown hair. The voice... those frigging eyes!

Andrew brought his hand to his face, eyes wide. His other hand tapped *play*.

"...anyways, I know a lot of you have been asking me for proof and whatever. Chill, I will post the proof tonight. Other than that I have great news I couldn't help but share. This time next week, that nasty cult will no longer exist."

907/5000