11 After Her

Falcon's blood ran cold. It was as if Autumn's words had reached an invisible hand that had wrapped around his throat, blocking his air and making him breathless. He whipped his head and stared at her, eyes wide with shock and horror. This was bad...very bad.

Realizing he'd shown too much of a reaction, Falcon unlocked his jaw and forced his lips into a grim smile. He glanced at Autumn. Her face was set in a smirk, amusement lining the corners of her brown eyes as they bore into him.

'Did a thorough job, didn't you?' he laughed, the sound cold and inhumane, devoid of amusement. 'You know a little too much for your own good.'

She shrugged nonchalantly, acting like none of his words had affected her. She was saved from a response by a clattering of heels as Cyan and the girl made their way towards them.

'Jason, there you are.' Cyan said, ironic considering he had been the one to vanish not moments prior. 'Please ask Canis to stop answering the reporters, will you?'

'He's just being polite.' The girl beside him said. 'But you are right, he should stop or they won't leave him alone.'

Falcon nodded slowly as he made his way to the couple. His mind was whirring at the speed of a windmill on a stormy day. The maid knew about him. Now the world had a face to associate with the name 'Falcon.'

I am sorry, Autumn. But you will have to die.

Pretty soon, the guests started clapping and the music turned up even louder. He groaned internally, how long were they going to stretch the ceremony? He suspected Teal had been behind all the planning, the elaborate details of the table covers to the flower setting spoke of extreme care and delicacy.

The couple united on a platform set on the dance floor, the lighting was fixed and the cake was brought out. Falcon let out a subtle gasp of wonder, as much taken by the cake as the other guests, who had let out a collective oooh the second their eyes had landed on the cake. Briefly, he wondered what the wedding cake would look like if the engagement cake seemed to cost enough to feed the guests for a week.

The intricate cake was set with floral wreaths of lilacs, which were sprayed with edible glitter, standing out like the sky on the Fourth of July. The three-tiered cake looked fabulous on the dance floor surrounded by the lights. Every detail was perfect, from the swirls of whipped cream to the elaborate fondant cutouts.

The topmost layer had two identical boxes set to look like they were toppling onto each other.

Falcon watched as Canis opened the box to reveal a ring which glittered so brightly that the sparkle reached him this far away, and slipped it onto Teal's ring finger. Teal was crying with emotion, as she opened the other box and revealed a golden band, holding Canis's hand close to her heart and slipping it onto his hand. The couple hugged for a long time, clinging onto each other like they were being separated and not united together for life.

Pretty soon, Teal was drying her eyes and cutting the cake, whereby the couple rubbed the cream onto each other's cheeks and licked it off their fingers. It was quite disgusting but the guests laughed and cheered them on.

The sky darkened like someone just spilled a drop of ink and it had diffused through the clouds, tightening the veil of gloom. The party had started getting wild, the stronger drinks opening with pops to really get the guests riled up. Now was the perfect time to get to the package, he thought, when he saw the maid slipping out of the crowd towards the night. He made his decision in a split second. Falcon went after Autumn.