My Wight Wife is Hosting a Ball! 8

It’s time for your annual ball. Once upon a time you had the space to host two a year, but now there are so many wights and high nobles in the nation that you need to make space for their own parties too. The entire thing is always such an ordeal that you could personally go without them for a year or two as a break.

The first challenge is inviting the guests. Cecille enjoys her company and she likes to keep it the same every year, but that isn’t always possible if the guest is busy with something, or heaven forbid, another ball hosted by someone else. So you have to send out dozens of letters, invites, rejections, over and over again until you’ve assembled an acceptable list. Acceptable being a fluid term that changes depending on how Cecille feels at that given time.

You don’t worry yourself too much with decorating the manor’s hall. Your servants usually handle that work, although even then sometimes you’re forced to delegate work and take on some responsibility.

The final and deadliest challenge of all, the one thing you simply cannot abide by – is your wife’s incredible obsession with being the most fashionable couple there. Cecille must throw out her wardrobe (and yours by consequence) at least twice a year and commission expensive replacement dresses and suits from your local tailor. She’s solely responsible for keeping the damn place in business.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Cecille could merely choose an ensemble and be done with the affair, but of course she believes that she can only truly discern what is appropriate by forcing you to wear every single one of them with her. It is an extreme test of endurance and patience, even as a man who has been effectively immortal for nearly one-hundred years. And no, seeing Cecille stripping and re-dressing herself two hundred times is not compensation.

You’ve seen her in less.

At the end of it all, Cecille is happy. She has chosen an outfit she thinks will blow every other wight in the building away (usually something that shows as much skin as possible,) invited all of her favourite guests, and micromanaged the main hall to perfection usually after everyone has already finished with it.

“I hope Adelheid doesn’t make me do that,” worries the newly married Li Stolberg, “She wants to host one soon so she can introduce me to her family.”

You wave him off, “Ah, it’s of less concern to a vampire. There’s something about wights that attract them to this sort of one-upmanship. Is Bao handling the change well?”

“Yes, I was surprised. I thought he’d struggle at his new school, but he’s made a lot of friends, and now I can spend a lot more time with him. Adelheid was very taken with him – I think she was looking forward to raising another child after all this time.”

“That’s good to hear. Watch out though, he might turn into a lady killer behind your back.”

“It’s a good thing that most of them are already dead then.”

You share a boisterous laugh with your new friend. The wives and girlfriends of the proceedings have gathered into a huge huddle on the other side of the room for the dress showdown/melee brawl that usually happens at this time of night. You hope they don’t burn the curtains this time.

“Speaking of children, I recall you telling me that Lady Cecille was interested in having one of her own.”

“Yes. Of course. Adele is working on something to give us a hand, as you may expect, reproducing with a dead woman is rather difficult. It is possible though.”

Adele and her husband are also in attendance at the party. Contrary to your hopes, Adele has managed to turn him into a complete recluse too. They spend most of their time watching anime and having sex instead of working. You hope it’s just a phase, because Cecille might have some pointed words with her should her task of helping her become inseminated not progress quickly enough.

Li leans in, “What do you think about vampires, do they have a difficult time… having kids too?”

“She can probably hear you,” you glance over at Madame Adelheid, who is staring a hole through him. She definitely heard that, “It’s easier than with a wight – there are a huge number of dhampir in the wards. When you consider how quickly a human incubizes with them…”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cecille waves you over, “Hold on. The other half demands my presence.” You leave Li with some of the other men and trot over to the noble huddle. Cecille breaks from the group and wraps you in a deep, sloppy, romantic kiss. Some of the singletons seethe in silence. She’s wearing a red… rag, fashioned into something kind of wearable. You can see everything. Every curve, dip and bump on her perfect proportioned body.

“Darling, would you like to dance?”

You nod and she escorts you to the floor. She pulls you in close as the band slowly begins to pick up the pace of the music, several other couples decide to join you, “Thank you for being here.” She whispers in your ear.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’ll always be here for you.”

“Non, for pushing me outside of my comfort zone. Before I met you, I wouldn’t have dared share my passions with other people like that.”

“I just want do make you happy.”

She blushes, “You already make me happy. Every day and every night.” She kisses you again. You feel yourself tearing up a bit. You try to suppress it though. You don’t want to make a scene in front of everybody.

A long time ago you wondered openly if you made the right choice. Marrying this mysterious women who blew into your life like a hurricane. Was this what it was like for every husband of someone like her? To be stricken so utterly by their beauty and intelligence that you wanted nothing more than to be by their side forever, no matter the consequence?

From your time speaking with others – the feeling is mutual and shared. Li felt the same way about Adelheid, and so did Adele’s husband. It makes you feel special to know that of all the men in the world she chose you. But it was those wrinkles, those secrets and vulnerabilities that made Cecille special. The things that only you know about her. While the secret of her hobby is out, there are hundreds of others that only belong to you and her.

Her cool hands touch yours and pull them down to her stomach. Her smile has gone from a woman stricken with romance, to one who was about to do something mischievous, “Husband. I have something else to tell you.”

“Hm?”

She leans in closer, “I’m pregnant.”

Words of what followed were spoken, but every guest in attendance was bound to a code of silence for years afterwards. Because upon hearing those words you made a complete ass of yourself and you couldn’t be happier about it.

---

“Dad?”

You look down at the little undead girl, pale skin and blonde hair, ruby red eyes, and tiny little spectral claws. Does she even take anything from you? She’s the spitting image of her mother. It isn’t a matter of complaint. Because now not only do you have the prettiest and most stunning wife in the world, but now you have a daughter who matches her and then some.

You pick the little wight up in your arms and hold her to your chest, “What is it Celeste?”

“Mother is missing!” she pouts. If your heart could still freeze it would, “She promised she’d come back before supper, but she’s still gone!” You frown, that is most concerning. Cecille has been working on a secret project with Adele for many months now. Sometimes it steals away many hours of the day.

“Let’s see if we can find her, shall we?”

Celeste nods as you carry her down the stairs and to Adele’s lab. You push open the door to find the place completely deserted. There’s no sign of the lich or her husband.

“How peculiar.”

Celeste points to the floor at the back left of the room, “What’s that?” You follow her finger and spy a wooden trap door that has been built into the floor. You put Celeste back down and peer through the opening. Finding a short set of stairs that leads into an unusually well-maintained underground corridor.

You venture on. The tunnel stretches for ages, it takes you nearly five minutes of walking at a brisk pace to reach a metal door on the other side. There’s a keypad on one side with a four-digit code required to unlock it, “What in the chief god’s name is this?” Celeste peers from behind you leg like a scared puppy.

“Password, four-digits…” You punch in Cecille’s birthday, a four-digit number that she wouldn’t share with anyone but you and maybe Adele. The door clunks and slides open. You should get a job as a bank robber. You step out onto a metallic walkway. On the other side, much to your surprise and astonishment, is a 1:1 scale recreation of the Redanner.

“Oh for goodness sake.”

“Oh, husband, Celeste!” Cecille turns around to face the intruders, “I didn’t expect you to find this place.”

“What is this?” you ask as Celeste runs over to admire the thing through the banister, “Is this some kind of huge model that you’ve been building? And why is it under the manor?”

Cecille seems unusually bashful, “Darling, you know how much Adele and I admire Redanner. So with all the money in the world, and some of the brightest minds in the fifty-six wards…” The machine that you thought moments ago was a mere statue lights up, it’s titanic arm slowly rising up to a ready position. Celeste squeals and runs back behind your leg.

“Cecille…”

“Oui?”

“The townspeople are going to be furious.”