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This abandoned church had seen better days, but alone in the middle of nowhere like this, there was no one left to care for it. Arnice held Lilysse's hand as they stepped inside, an unexpected find on their journey. The stained glass windows, once so colorful, were now broken and faded, and the altar was covered in overgrowth. Part of the roof had caved in, and the moonlight seeping in cast a silver glow over the worn pews. Dust covered everything as nature sought to reclaim this place forgotten by time and humanity.
Lilysse released Arnice's hand and took a hesitant step forward. The village outside was similarly abandoned, but would at least provide shelter for the night. Since their reunion and leaving Ruswal Island, Arnice and Lilysse traveled aimlessly, but it wasn't so bad. They couldn't stay in one place for very long, and sometimes Arnice had to invoke her authority as the new Nightlord to mediate disputes between human and demon, but to have a lifetime like this with Lilysse was more than she ever dared hope for.
"This place was probably really beautiful once," Lilysse said to Arnice. "It still is, a little bit, I think."
"You think so?" Arnice stepped around a pile of rubble. "Looks like nothing but ruins to me."
Lilysse giggled. "This church might even predate the Curia. After the Blue Night, when the Curia was first formed, it styled itself after the religions of old."
"Then this place must be older than me. Shame to see it so rundown."
"Time passes, and everything changes." Lilysse laid her hands over her heart. "That's what it means to be mortal."
Arnice bit her lip, regretting her comment. Eight hundred years ago, she had been turned immortal by that blue rain, but she remembered little of those centuries, being not much more than a mindless demon. Eventually the Curia had captured her and turned her into a knight, and when she met Lilysse, she finally felt alive again. "I don't regret it, you know," she muttered.
"Huh? Arnice?"
"Meeting you, I mean. If I hadn't been touch by the blue rain, I never would've met you."
Lilysse smiled as she stepped closer to Arnice, and clasped Arnice's hand tightly between hers. "It's been painful sometimes, but even those memories are precious to me."
Arnice too smiled, ruefully. "It was cruel of me to take your memories away, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was! That was a whole year wasted!" Yet Lilysse's smile brightened. "But I remember now, and I won't lose you again."
"Lily…"
"I may not be as strong as you, but please, believe in me."
With her hand still in Lilysse's, Arnice fell to one knee before her and kissed the back of Lilysse's hand. "Now and forever, I will be your knight, and protect you until the stars fade."
A deep blush came upon Lilysse's cheeks, softly illuminated by the moonlight. "What would the other demons think, seeing the Nightlord kneeling before a human?"
"I don't care." Arnice chuckled darkly. "All that I do, I do for you."
"Arnice…" Lilysse also knelt and pressed her hand to Arnice's cheek. "You know, there are other vows to make in a church too."
Arnice blinked in surprise, and she couldn't miss that teasing, alluring tone in Lilysse's voice. When had Lilysse grown so bold? "Wait, you mean like wedding vows?"
Lilysse nodded excitedly. "It's always been a little fantasy of mine. I know it won't be official, but that doesn't really matter, does it?"
"I didn't know you ever thought about marriage."
"Well, as a chosen Saint, I was always expected to sacrifice myself, so it wasn't like I could get married, but now, thanks to you…"
Arnice lowered her gaze, and again guilt filled her. "In abandoning the Curia with me, you basically sacrificed any chance for a normal life. We're not much better than runaways…"
Lilysse pressed a finger to Arnice's lips. "But I can be with you now. That's what matters." She smiled, and kissed Arnice.
For Lilysse's sake, Arnice would sink to the depths of hell. A world that demanded Lilysse's death wasn't a world worth saving. But Lilysse had wanted to save the world for Arnice's sake. They were both stubborn women, always talking over each other. They both still lived, and day still followed night. "Lilysse, will you marry me?" Arnice asked, her voice quiet.
"Of course," Lilysse replied, just as quietly.
Hand-in-hand, the two women approached the altar, the faded stained glass window above catching some of the moonlight. There were no witnesses, nor priest or pastor, but that didn't matter. Maybe one day they would vanish from history, the star-crossed love between Saint and Nightlord becoming mere legend. But if such a legend could thrive, perhaps one day human and demon could share this world together.
Lilysse took the shawl from her waist and draped it around her head as a makeshift veil, and Arnice chuckled lightly; Lilysse was always beautiful, no matter what. They let their fingers lace and stared into each other's eyes, and Lilysse said, "I vow to love you for all of my days, and to support you in sickness and in health, in light and in darkness."
Arnice inhaled a deep breath. Those weren't the traditional vows, but there was little traditional about the two of them. "I vow to love you even beyond eternity, and I pledge my strength to you, and to ensure this world for you."
A lovely smile came upon Lilysse's lips as her eyes watered. "Do you take me as your wife?"
"I do. And do you take me as your wife?"
"I do." Tears began to roll down Lilysse's cheeks, and she cupped Arnice's face as their lips met for a kiss, and tears fell from Arnice's eyes as well.
She had Lilysse. She needed nothing more to be happy.
Despite the small space, they began to dance, as was tradition during a wedding reception, the one tradition that they would invoke here. Arnice held Lilysse's hand as she put her arm around Lilysse's waist, and Lilysse laid her other hand on Arnice's shoulder. Lilysse smiled so lovingly at Arnice, and her heartbeat was clear against Arnice's chest. What the future held, neither of them could predict, but it was theirs to create, and always they would find each other.
Perhaps Lilysse would choose eternity in the end. Or perhaps she would embrace her mortality. But these moments now were important too.
"I love you, Arnice," Lilysse said as their dance began to slow. "Now and forever."
"I love you too," Arnice replied, and bent her head to kiss Lilysse again.
