Runaway Bride

      Hopping onto a random train in the middle of the night was not the best idea Elise ever had. Not her worst, but a close second to when she was thirteen and slept in the library overnight, only to wake up surrounded by cleaning pixies.

           Surrounded by luggage and the smell of old clothes, she shifts her legs to avoid having them fall asleep before the train reaches the next stop. In other carts there are no doubt people dining and laughing with glasses of champagne in their hands. She wishes she could join them in their revelry, but leaving her hiding space in a torn, dirt-stained wedding dress won’t bring her the right sort of attention.

           Elise only wanted to be sure that no one had altered it without her knowledge, like her mother-in-law-to-be threatened to do when she failed to convince her to wear her gaudy dress from her own wedding. She didn’t expect to hear screaming from the adjacent room when she tested how it fit, glass bottles filled with wine for the guests breaking against the adjoining walls, the cries only stopping at the sound of a sickening thud. Her groom’s voice only relieved her for a moment before she heard it discuss where to dispose of the body. She acted on instinct, opening a window and running until she found the train ready to depart.

           Tears come unbidden after what feels like centuries thinking of only escape and surviving. Her plans of marrying the man of her dreams are now as broken as her heart. Her eyes grow heavy after her sorrow drains her of tears that further stained her once beautiful white gown. Not even the pain in her blooded feet could keep her awake as adrenaline faded from her body, replaced with exhaustion.

           Time passes her by as she slept, leaving her ignorant to the moment when the train stops and she’s no longer alone. Someone large and strong grabs her, pulling her forward to the point where she nearly falls. Despite her panicked cries, Elise is dragged across the floor, her body already sore from her escape, her limbs unable to move from the mixture of fear and defeat.

           This is it, my end. They’ll take me back to the estate if not the chapel. My murderous groom will say I’m just a frightened bride with cold feet, and then it will be my body buried somewhere unknown. No one will know I’m missing until I’m nothing but bones.

           They take her into a train cart filled with people in fancy clothes, tossing her into an empty booth, her head falling against the window exposing the darkness she used to cover her escape. She doesn’t recognize the area behind the glass, nothing but trees with no sign of human influence. Despite the throbbing in her skull, Elise turns her head to the gawking crowd staring back at her in confusion and horror, their meal interrupted by her unexpected entrance. Only a lone man in a trench coat and wide brimmed hat has a neutral expression when looking at her.

           “Is this everyone?” the man asks a uniformed man, the one she assumes brought her here.

           “Yes, sir. All the passengers are accounted for, and our stowaway.”

           “Any sign of the necklace?”

           “No, sir.”

           The man in the trench coat sighs in frustration. Elise shrinks into herself as the eyes surrounding her seem to search through her soul.

           “Who is she?” one whispers.

           “I don’t know, I don’t recognize her.”

           “Wait, isn’t there a wedding this morning? The von Grey and Carlyle families, right?”

           “It can’t be Elise Carlyle; she wouldn’t be caught dead in such a state. Besides, why would she be running from her own wedding? They’ve known each other for years.”

           Elise opens her mouth to explain everything, yet no words would come. Try as she might, the only sound she can make is a strangled cry.

           The man in the trench coat walks down the small path separating the row of booths, hands behind his back in thought. Everyone else remains where they are, their panicked whispers filling the small space with dread.

           “Detective, what are your plans?” someone asks.

           “I already have the train staff searching for the missing jewelry. The conductor is aware of this, and I’ve informed him to keep the train here until the necklace is found. If the thief wishes to reach Bridgeway, they will have to confess. Otherwise, we’ll wait until the local police arrive to interrogate everyone.”

           The chatter rises to frustrated protests. The person who dismissed her identity, a middle-aged woman with a large hat decorated with silk flowers, rose from her seat.

           “This is preposterous! I have somewhere to be, and being fashionably late isn’t an option. If I’m not in the pews at the chapel with the other guests when the bride walks down the aisle, the shame will ruin my reputation and standing in society!”

           The detective ignores her outburst to write down something in his notepad. The older woman, realizing her declaration failed to sway the detective, reaches for her purse, opening it and searching until she pulls out a hand mirror, its metal frame shaped into soft vines with glowing stones for flowers. Elise recognizes her Seeing Mirror as the work of a famous artisan in Bridgeway, the place where the chapel awaited her, and what she once thought would be the start of her new life.

The older woman leaves her seat, not making any effort to hide what she’s doing from the detective or the other passengers. If he suspects something, he doesn’t show it as he eyes the passengers. The older woman finds a small corner with an empty booth, turning her back to the others as she presses the flowers and whispers a few words to connect with another Seeing Mirror. Elise can only see a flash of light from the mirror before the detective takes position across from her, blocking her view.

           “Care to answer some questions?”

           Elise tries once more to speak, and again only a sound of pain escapes her lips. The detective’s hardened expression shifts slightly as she pretends to write with an invisible pen on the table.

           “Here, you can use mine. Now, first question: how did you get on the train?”

           Elise writes down a few words: Open door, got on before the train left.

           “And why did you get on the train?”

           Running away. Heard a murder, groom, and groomsmen. Don’t know who was killed but was scared.

           “Your future husband and his groomsmen killed someone? What else can you tell me?”

           Screaming, fighting, glass shattering, silence, then groom says they need to hide the body.

           The detective continues to ask her questions, Elise responding with what few words she could conjure from her mind without fear settling in. When the interrogation is over, Elise feels hollow yet despondent. The detective thanks her for her cooperation, moving on to a passenger in a heavy wool coat.

Yet, before he could ask a single question, two things happen at the same time: a uniformed woman enters the train with a necklace of flawless diamonds in hand, and the older woman throws her mirror against the wall. The detective springs into action, reaching the staff member in seconds. The older woman turns her attention to Elise, her expression changing from rage to concern. She approaches Elise while the others are distracted with the reveal of the missing necklace.

           “You’re Elise, aren’t you?”

           Elise nods, hope rising in her chest.

           “Oh, I should have known,” the older woman returns to her snobbish attitude in an instant. “Of course, when I connected to my cousin’s mirror, she was certain nothing was the matter, or she would have told me. With this theft of your wedding gift, I worried I would be late, so naturally I had to give the bride a proper blessing to alleviate the results of my tardiness.

           “And when the mirror was given to the ‘bride,’ you won’t believe who I saw. Did the von Grey family servants think so little of me that I wouldn’t recognize one of them from the time’s I’ve spent with their mistress? The dress wasn’t even embroidered!”

           She pats Elise’s head as if she were a child while it swirls in confusion at the news.

           “Poor thing, forced to play in a foolish man’s game. No doubt he believed the veil would hide her identity until the priest declared them husband and wife. No matter, everything will be revealed soon enough. I told my cousin to inform your mother that your groom has a convoluted plan to wed another woman of a lowly station. Once we reach Bridgeway, all will be well.”

           Elise is not certain the older woman’s assumptions are correct, but the thought of salvation is enough to set her mind at ease. Once the train resumes its journey, the passengers return to a modicum of normalcy, talking about mundane things as they ate their now cold food. Elise’s own appetite returned as she dined with the older woman as she spoke of the scandal that will erupt once the truth is revealed.

           With time the wheels brake upon the rails as the station of Bridgeway comes into view. The familiar face of her mother, eyes stained with sorrow, light up once Elise races onto the platform into her warm embrace.