Chastity

“Hmmm?” cupid asked when chastity spoke. “oh, thank you,” she smiled as though she’d been broken out of some sort of trance. the dress was custom made and had been one of cupid’s own designs for well over a decade now in preparation for something like this. she just never thought she’d get here. and now that it was here…she sighed and sat down when chastity asked her if she was okay. “i don’t know,” she replied honestly. she’d been working with raphael for a while now to try to identify her own feelings on things before those feelings got too big. this was a hard feeling to pin down. “i’m excited, i am. i’ve wanted this my whole life. i just…” she shook her head. “i don’t know if i’ve earned it. raphael says i shouldn’t think like that but i just don’t want bells to feel like they’re settling for me. it’s stupid, i know. i know that they love me, i can see it but…it’s really hard to shake off the arranged marriage vibe sometimes with this trial hanging over our heads.” she’d been pretty secure in the relationship for a while now, but their recent disappearance into the empty brought back old fears. “i’m sorry,” she wiped at her face. “i didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”

Chastity returned Cupid’s smile sympathetically, feeling saddened by just how off Cupid seemed when she should’ve been at her happiest. She started working on Cupid’s hair as she sat down next to her. Chastity listened as Cupid described her predicament. “It’s not stupid,” Chastity assured her. “And don’t be sorry. I’m your friend, and I’m always going to be here for you to vent.” Everyone just wanted Cupid to be happy, but it made sense why Cupid felt the way she did. “But I know they’re not settling for you. I have evidence.” She stood up and went to her wedding bag. It was actually a portal to her studio, and she pulled out a few binders from it. “Everything has always been building up to this. It’s not arranged. It’s just . . . meant to be. All this trial is doing is confirming what we already knew. That there is nothing between heaven, hell, life, or death that could keep you two apart. Your love for each other is too strong for that.” 

Chastity felt like she’d been waiting for this day all her life. Sure, this wasn’t her wedding, but her best friend’s wedding felt almost more important than that. She and Cupid had spent so much of their younger years plotting exactly how they wanted their weddings to go, and although it took a long time to get there with a few bumps along the way, they were here now. Everything had been decorated perfectly. Cupid’s dress was gorgeous, and they were just in the final preparations before Cupid could walk down the aisle. Chastity felt like she was even more excited than Cupid was. “You look so pretty,” Chastity sighed fondly, pausing for a moment to admire the work they’d done. “But for someone who I thought had been dreaming about this for centuries, you don’t look all that happy about it. Are you okay? I never thought you’d be the one to get pre-wedding jitters.”