For most of the morning the female was at the mercy of her servants, lacking any of the excitement they had. After being shoved into a rose scented bath and scrubbed til her lightly tanned skin was flushed pink, or having the black strands of her hair tugged and pulled til they were lacking any of their usual curls, it was hard to. Least it kept her more concerned about the pain than much else, free of nerves and her fears for the time being. It was her wedding day after all - shouldn’t she be nervous? Unable to contain her anxious anticipation for what was likely the most important day of her life? Perhaps even in love, instead of being a rather emotionless cell to be pushed around and prettied up.

Hell, Irene was yet to even see her own wedding gown, much less her husband-to-be. The whole arrangement had been sudden, sprung upon her when her worst concerns had been politics or who would be at the next ball. Worries that seemed overly childish. It still seemed like she was living in one of those horror novels that had become popular. Marrying a vampire seemed almost like a bad joke, given she’d been certain they were simply creatures of myth used to scare children into staying inside at night up until rather recently. A part of her still hoped it would turn out to be a lie, that her father had spun the tale to scare her into accepting the marriage to some old fool thrice her age. Though if they were actually a vampire she supposed that would still be the case, though perhaps they were even older.

A particularly hard tug on her hair had her yelping, banging the back of her skull against the chair. She rubbed the spot tenderly, though didn’t have the energy to yell at the servant for the mistake. It pulled her out of her fears, leaving her to focus on the present. She couldn’t do much about anything else could she? As she looked at her reflection in the mirror it was hard to recognize herself. She almost looked half dead herself, her usually blue eyes dull and lifeless, the dark shadows from her lack of sleep only growing darker. Luckily they should be able to hide the shadows, cosmetics were a wonderful invention for such a reason, but she doubted she could do much to look like the happy, youthful daughter her parents would want her to be.

The hair pulling ceased once it was free of knots and tangles, though she knew the pain hadn’t nearly come to an end. The dress came next, then the hairdo, then whatever else they needed to do before she could be something that was deemed presentable. She had always known that whenever her wedding came around it would not be her choice, so she hadn’t exactly dreamed about the day happening. In her mind it was always going to be a business exchange rather than something of love, so it wasn’t a surprise that she was marrying someone she had never met. Hopefully they’d at least be someone decent, even with the whole vampire ordeal. Or maybe someone who didn’t care for her existence, as whilst it sounded quite awful, least she’d be left alone.

The gown the servants laid out was rather traditional, gorgeous in its own way, but not exactly the most unique gown. She supposed it would do, standing to the side so the servants could get her dressed. A corset was pulled rather taunt, loose enough so that she could breath as they certainly didn’t want her passing out, though enough that movement was going to be a particular hassle. As the gown was draped over her slender frame she felt the weight of it, mostly from the many layered skirts which weighed everything down despite seeming to have been made from high quality fabrics. Perhaps she shouldn’t have refused to see the gown till her wedding day so that changes could have been made, but the mere thought of the wedding had been enough to make her feel ill. Not that it really helped, she’d felt ill nonetheless.

Enough. She took a deep breath, holding it for the span of several seconds before releasing it in a sigh. She couldn’t change the past, and the longer she indulged in her downward spiral into insanity the worse it would get. The reality was that she was getting married. Any other unsettling factors didn’t matter, not at that moment at least. She sat herself back down in front of the mirror, trying to hold her head high as the servants set about pinning her hair into some elaborate updo, staring at her own reflection as she steeled her nerves. It was only a wedding, a fancy ceremony where all she really had to do was look pretty and say some words. It did not matter to whom she said them to, nor did it matter what they were. For years she had known she’d be married off to whoever posed the most advantageous match, this was no surprise. A vampire was not so bad, long as she remained alive it was something she could deal with. She would be fine. She was fine.

Quinlan watched as the woman sit up and reach for her chemise. There was was a bit of dried blood stuck to the pillow from the night before. The Vampire sat up, grabbing a nearby washcloth that was sitting in a bowl of now lukewarm water a servant had brought in earlier. "Come here, dearest," he said, getting out of the bed so when she turned he was able to clean her neck off. "Remember your scarf for the next few days. I bit a little too hard last night."

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That was a bit of an understatement. He had been told about the wedding days ago. Days. Rebecca here was the luckiest of the bunch this week. She at least was able to walk away from the scene. But even after sleeping the whole night, she hadn't fully recovered like she should have. Quin bit his lip and offered her a smile to which she returned with a dazed one of her own. The true wonder was what was he going to do with a human wife? A mortal. Perhaps this was a punishment from his parents.

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He tilted his head, smile fading to a flat face. "Okay, lovey. I've got a wedding to prepare for so I'm going to ask you to leave. A carriage has already been prepared for you and is waiting by the doors so hurry on up and get your dress on." He said in a mostly flat tone. What else was there at this moment? Quin left her there, walking into his bathing room where invisible servants had already made his bath somehow still steaming. He knew the servants were regular mortals or mixes but he hardly ever saw them. They avoided him specifically. His temper was a tad bit worse than his families, after all, he was the youngest.

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Quinlan gave a slight hiss as he sank into the water that had been scented like vanilla like his soaps were and he set to scrubbing. His skin was a mocha color, curtisy of his lovely Mother, and somehow still had Freckles thanks to his pale and freckled father. He didn't particularly care for the Freckles that scattered across his face and arms. In fact, the only real feature he got from his father that he appreciated was his eyes. Hazel, but mostly Forest green. Those eyes helped him get away with Murder. Several times. This week. The rest of him came from his mother's side. His height and lanky form, his curly hair that was Raven colored, and his broad smile with full lips and dimples. His sister's took after their father, unfortunately for them.

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After scrubbing himself raw, he climbed out of the tub and gave himself a shave and wrapped in a towel. When he entered the room, his mother was there. She took one look at him and shook her head. Quinlan grinned at the sight and did a modeling turn for her to take it all in. "Do you like my wedding attire, mum?" He asked.

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She sighed, "Quin. You are too much, you should be ready by now! My goodness, I just saw your dinner leaving not too long ago. You know your father hates it when you let them stay the night. Too risky. And on your wedding day no less!" She sighed, handing him a neatly folded bundle. "Get dressed. We leave in twenty minutes. No ands ifs or buts about it. And I hope you had your fill, because the place will be stuffed." The dark skinned woman said, pointing her finger at him. His mother had been turned when she was twenty seven years old so she had the build of a real woman, but for six hundred years old... she looked amazing. Quin nodded, not wanting anything more to be said about his behaviors because that was just too long of a list.

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"Yes, Mum," he said, taking the bundle. She smiled at that and kissed his cheek before walking out, skirts swishing and her heeled shoes making enough noise that he knew she was annoyed this morning. He rolled his eyes and started getting into his suit. Deep blue, nearly black. The whole thing. The only thing bright about it was the golden embroidery near the cuffs. Quin grinned, snorting. This day was going to be wonderful, he could feel it. He took a glance in the mirror, straightening the jacket. It wasn't absolutely awful. The last step was to put on his shoes. The Vampire had managed to avoid actual marriage for over a hundred years. Now it had caught up. Hopefully this woman would be tolerable.

Everything started to pass in a blur, the minutes til they had to leave ticking down far too quickly. Cosmetics were applied, mostly to return her to a state of normalcy. Lightly applied lip tint and blush were only there to make her seem a little more alive, though it seemed pointless when looking at the grand scheme of things. She was marrying an undead after all. Though she supposed she shouldn’t have dwelled on her assumptions of what a vampire was, given she’d never met one. Questions for later on perhaps, she’d likely be spending quite a bit of time in her husband-to-be’s presence for the next few days.

As soon as she was ready she was whisked out of her room, struggling to walk in her heels without stepping on the skirts of the gown. When presented to her parents she forced a smile, straightening her posture to hold her own head higher. She was fairly tall for most of the lady’s she spent her time with, a trait she likely took from her father given she stood taller than her mother. After a few breathes of silence whilst her parents looked her over she chose to say something, nervously wringing her hands together. “Will everything be alright?” It felt childish to as such a question, but she needed some assurance to keep herself together for the following days.

“Of course. Do not worry too much about it, I am sure you and your husband will get along well.” Her father smiled, though quickly shifted his focus to looking at a clock. “It is time to leave, we mustn’t be late to your own wedding.”

Her smile slipped off her face rather quickly as she followed her parents out to an awaiting carriage, the silence falling comfortably over the group, only broken by the clicking of heels against the wood floors. Each step had to be carefully placed to avoid tripping over her skirts and ruining the dress, though perhaps doing so would save her from the wedding. At least for a few days til they could have a replacement made. It was almost tempting to do so, but what sense of duty she had kept her from actually following it through. She wasn’t a child, she could, and would, go through with the marriage no matter how she felt about it.

They settled into the carriage, a ride mostly silent except for the occasional small talk, both her parents attempting to distract her from the wedding. She had managed to pull a veil over her own emotions, each expression that flitted across her face an act. Appear like the perfect daughter you are expected to be, be happy. You have been waiting for this day your whole life. She reminded herself, repeating the same thing in her head everytime she started to let her nerves get the better of her.

She was practically escorted in by her parents once they arrived at the wedding venue, led into a small side room where she was told to wait until the rest of the guests arrived, as well as the groom. Whilst she waited she kept her mother in the room with her, needing someone to talk to in order to keep her cool. Talking about anything but the wedding. Whether some other affluent family was hosting any parties or balls soon, what the whether would be like the next day, whatever gossip they could think of. Anything and everything but the wedding or who she was to marry.

The ride to the venue was painful to say the least. The carriage was silent and everyone stated in a different directions until they got there. As soon as they stepped out, they mimicked the perfect family. All smiles and compliments and laughter. Such bright presences for people who did dark things. Isn't that how it goes though? Quin followed his father as he introduced him to several different people. None were particularly memorable. Overall, the male was bored. Bored out of his mind. Every inch of his being was itching to bolt away from here so he could go off and enjoy living his day in his regular routine.

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His mother, bless her, interrupted a ... Duke? Of some sort. The old man was rambling about a war and short French generals. And Quin was ready to go deaf for an eternity rather than listen to this pile of wrinkles tell a tale. That graceful wisp of a woman snuck in and batted her lashes no more than twice. "I'm sorry, Duke Ashmont, but the ceremony is starting so I'll need to take the groom from you! I'll see you at the celebration, alright?" She said. The old man must have been struck dumb because he just stared at her.

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Quin smiled, "Any words of advice, Mother?" He asked, the words having a slight bit of bite behind them. No puns intended. "I'm not exactly good at....commitment. "

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Lady Rhea sighed deeply as she looked at Quin. "Quinlan. You will treat her with respect. You know how noble humans are raised, especially the girls. She must likely expects that you'll trample over her spirit and heart. You will not, understand? You will treat her as you should. I'm almost certain she knows what we are so that's sure to be a bit intimidating. Sweet goodness, Quin, just be decent. And make sure you don't feed in front of her for... awhile." She said, shaking her head as if she knew how he took his meals.

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Quinlan grinned, making his way up to the officiant who was sweating. The male flicked his hazel eyes to scan the man and his grin widened. "Sir, your heartbeat has increased an alarming amount. Is everything alright?" He asked, letting the words flow out sweet and innocently and he straightened his cuffs before the bride was due to enter the scene. It was a bit too late though, his mother had heard the comment and shook her head, taking her seat in the front row with the rest of his family. Well, his father and sister. The rest if his siblings he wasn't on speaking terms with and his grandmother hated his guts and he hated hers.

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As the room filled, Quin brushed off a few more pieces of lint from his sleeves and chest and forced a bright smile onto his face. Just that was taking the majority of his focus. Keeping the teeth hidden so not to freak out the humans, but wide enough to where he looked serene enough. As if he were actually happy to be here. The only thing that was on his mind was his mother's words. Respect. She acted like he was a complete barbarian. In all honesty, he was worse than most of his siblings. But he also accepted how things were later on in life than they had.

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And now his new bride-to-be would have to live with the fact that she'd be living with a group of blood sucking, well, monsters. Someone had a very sick sense of humor.

The bride entered, being escorted by her father who looked absolutely bored out of his mind. The poor girl was trying so hard to just stay calm until she reached the altar. Too bad her heart rate was anything but calm. So she most definitely knew then. That part made him smirk a little. And yet her heart rate was somehow still slower than the officiants. Poor guy was sweating.

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As the man started going through the process of what to repeat and whatnot, Quin almost fell asleep standing. This had to be the most boring event in his two hundred years. When it came to his part he said what he needed to say and then zoned out once more, glancing behind the pile of wrinkles to the rest of the venue. Such a pretty place. Whoever had thrown this together in such short notice had done an excellent job. I mean, really. Would have taken him ages to think of this place. Ages!

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The only thing that brought his mind back from the background of the venue was the sound of Sir Wrinkles clearing his throat. Several times. He turned his eyes to Wrinkles and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Um, your bride. You may, um, kiss her." Quinlan did not find stuttering to be attractive. At all.

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Quin turned to the woman, feeling the most awkward he had probably ever felt in his entire life. At least the creature who he was about to finalized this marriage with wasn't too shabby. He would have to fix this no back bone thing though. He male gently leaned in as there was no need to scare the poor creature any more than she already was. And he planted the kiss just shy of her mouth, closer to her cheek but to everyone in the audience it would look like he had actually kissed her. The only one who would know was Wrinkles and it didn't look like he'd be tattling on him. Some humans were right to fear for their lives... especially when Quinlan was involved. If the humans family knew his species, then they had to know of his reputation.

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Even vampires were skeptical when he took an interest in someone of their clan.

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Either she was an excellent actress or the family really just wanted her gone. Lucky her. Stuck with him. Quinlan smiled at his bride, letting all of his charms shine through and he offered his elbow to her to escort her away from the crowd that had stood and clapped for them. His family peered at them with no emotion except for pure joy. Father was stiff though. Father just so happened to be an excellent actor.

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Quin looked at her, arm still extended. "Shall we, milady?" He asked, keeping his smile to a minimum so the doe wouldn't jump and run off. Perhaps she wouldn't though. Human females were fickle creatures, but wo was he to judge? He'd never seen them as anything more than a quick meal.

It had been a long while since the male had considered a human anything more than a walking, talking dinner tray. It was not polite for one to eat their wife. So far, the human still seemed scared out of her undertakings. Silent. No eye contact. And yet her heartbeat had hardly slowed any. Quinlan wasn't a hundred percent sure how to go about this whole situation so he merely lead her away to the spot that was holding the banquet. The entire walk he kept up his smile.

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He didn't speak until they were out of earshot of all of the immortals. Any sounds could be blocked by the giggles and shouts coming from the venue. "I think you'll find this just as funny as I do, I don't know your name so I suggest we start off with introductions so we can at least pretend we knew about this whole procession." He sighed through his nose and rolled his emerald eyes. "I'm Quinlan Watson-Carter. I found out about the wedding maybe four days ago. Time blurs. I was told you knew of my condition. It's not something I will bring up regularly as it normally makes humans immensely uncomfortable."

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He lead her to the table set aside for the two of them as the people started to trickle in. Quin even pulled the chair out like a proper gentleman should. Appearances were important. "I don't know how much we will actually be seeing each other on a daily basis, but I don't plan on harming you in any form. My mother would stake me herself. So just... calm down, just a bit. Everyone else is already causing a headache enough," he grumbled, taking the seat beside her. "Now your turn. No need to worry about stepping over boundaries and such. We're already married and it's in the books. Not much we can do about it."

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He had said the last sentences flatly. In a Monotone. He had always always been against marriage. Especially between humans and vampires. He'd seen several in the past end simply because the Vampire became a tad bit too greedy one night or just a little angry and forceful. Next thing they knew their partners were slumped on the floor. So what was his parent's bright idea for this one? There had to be something but nothing made sense. They could hardly say they were worried about his eating habits.

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As thoughts crossed his mind, his face slowly fell into a rather angry looking resting pose. He didn't even realize he was glaring until his mother walked into the scene, linked with Father, and brought her fingers to draw up a smile. So, naturally, he shot her a sarcastic beam that showed off his beloved canines. Somewhere he could hear glass shattering against glass and the male's face shifted into a grin.

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Quinlan returned his attention to the woman beside him, "I'm sorry, but your name, darling?" He asked, wrinkling his nose ever so slightly. He could tell his mother was now watching him like a hawk so he would have to be on his best behavior. Poor girl was going to be so shocked when she arrived to their estate and the family only acted like they were family one day a week and the rest they simply acted like they couldn't stand eachother but no one dared move out. Mother would loose her mind if she didn't have someone to fuss over. They found that out when their brother moved out. Splendid day that was for the whole lot of them.

In many ways her own fear was growing to annoy her, as she certainly didn’t want to be scared of the male who was now her husband by any societal standpoint, but she was antsy enough as is. Being this nervous wasn’t exactly how she usually behaved, though given the circumstances she did hope it’d be excused. If she’d had more time to process the whole wedding and vampire revelation perhaps she would have been able to keep herself calm. It certainly wasn’t kind to him, she knew she’d find it quite discouraging if someone was pretty much consumed by fear due to her, it couldn’t be too different in his case.

Somehow Irene wasn’t surprised he seemed to have learned about the wedding about the same time as she did. Both of them seemed to have been used as pawns in whatever their parents had planned, against their own will. Though that was how she knew it was on her side, she didn’t know enough to assume it was the same for him. Being immensely uncomfortable may have been an understatement on his end, she’d been in shock and denial for far too long after it had all been revealed, only for it to all come crashing down.

His assurance that he wouldn’t harm her did help her relax, even if she had no way to know she could trust him. It wouldn’t be smart for her to go missing so recently after her own wedding, so she supposed it would only make sense for her to be safe. For the time being at least. Though she certainly did need to calm, trying to focus on something pleasant to aid in such an effort. As he shifted the conversation for her to speak she paused for a moment to phrase her words properly and hopefully not have a tremble in her voice, though she ended up remaining silent as his expression fell into a glare. If she was being honest it was particularly intimidating, though as she hadn’t said anything yet she could only hope it wasn’t due to some mistake on her end.

“It's Irene Acker.” She hadn’t realized she hadn’t actually said anything, distracted by the guests entering the room and his previously less than friendly expression. “I haven’t known about the arrangement or the other situation much longer than you have, so I do apologize if I’ve caused any offense. I’m not usually like this.” A small, nervous laugh bubbled from her though she was managing to keep herself more composed in any other area. Conversation certainly helped, at least she could manage to get her brain to see him as more than just something she’d started to fear.

“It is nice to be acquainted with you Quinlan.” Perhaps nice was an overstatement, though it did certainly help to know his name. Never once had she thought she’d marry someone she’d never met even once before, so she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. A question was nagging at her to be asked, as her gaze panned over the room. “Do you eat food? Afraid my knowledge of vampires is limited to children's stories. I do doubt those are anything close to the truth.” She spoke quietly, hoping she wouldn’t be overheard by any of the human guests. She didn’t particularly want to be labeled as crazy on her wedding day. Her other concerns were mostly whether her question could be regarded as impolite, though he had said she didn’t need to worry about boundaries.