Sweet sixteen

Mary didn't have any friends but her parents had organised a party. Who on earth would be there?

Sweet Sixteen

"And never been kissed"

Mary reddened as her mother joked about the oncoming celebrations but she was in no mood.

"Mum, stop it"

The room had been booked and the invitations sent out. Mary wondered who would be coming to her birthday party as she had no real friends to speak of. Three girls at school spoke to her when they needed an answer for a maths test, and apart from the geeky boy who played on his phone all day no one had ever said hello to her in the whole six years she'd been at school.

 The geek on his phone would be nice if he smiled or even looked up from the screen and he'd have to have that beanie hat surgically removed from his head.

Mary's mum hummed a tune along to the radio, her dad was due home from work soon and he said he was bringing a takeaway with him.

"There's so much to do"  said her mum cleaning the window that she'd cleaned the day before and the day before that.

"Rogan Josh" shouted dad.

"Don't know him" replied mum.

They laughed as they put out the plates. Mary joined them watching how they interacted with each other, playful, jokey, loving, she was a lucky girl. Her parents never seemed old, they had a youngness about them that she loved, if only they shared it with others instead of locking themselves away in here every night.

She wondered exactly who was coming to her party.

"All adults I expect" she said as she stroked Jinty cat who purred as she licked Mary's hand.

"Ugh, sandpaper" she picked up the cat and looked at her.

"How old are you? It's like you've been here forever"

Mary was an inquisitive teen even though she wasn't allowed most of the things other girls her own age had. She watched tv with her parents, used her dad's computer for homework and read a lot. She had to as she had no one to talk to about things and it embarrassed her when she had to speak to her mum about personal stuff.

Waking early next morning she went down to breakfast. Mum and dad were waiting, they had set the table and put out her cereal but in the bowl was a small box.

As she opened it her heart lurched.

"A phone, oh thanks"

"Yes" cried mum "it's one of those touch ones with lots of app stuff on and lights and things" she stopped there as she didn't know what else to say.

"Wow, thanks again" she kissed them wondering who she'd text first.

"Oh yes" she remembered "I don't have any friends"

"Why am I blindfolded?" it was a question she thought she'd never have to ask but it seemed reasonable under these circumstances.

They'd bundled her into a black limo, she knew it was black as she'd spied through the fabric that covered her eyes so then they put another one over that one.

Mum held her hand and dad whispered.

"We should have warned her beforehand" Mary listened intently and she swore she could hear her mum say. 

"Well I wasn't told and I survived"

Half an hour later and they'd arrived. Helped out by her parents Mary stumbled on the kerb but righted herself when she heard the music.

Inside the thumping of heavy rock made her think that maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Off came the blindfold and standing in front of her were, as expected, people she'd never seen before. All except one. The beanie hat had been replaced by a shock of black hair, with two very distinctive horns sticking out of his forehead.

He smiled at Mary and she giggled not knowing if this was a wind up she turned to her parents.

"You've got it exactly how I'd have wanted it, oh thanks it's great"

Her mother took her to one side.

"There is something we need to tell you" she whispered with just a hint of fear in her voice. Before they could get her on her own one of the guests came over.

"How's the bride?" he asked, Mary laughed as her mum grabbed her arm pulling her into a side room.

"Mary" she started to speak but another man entered the room.

He was old, bent and twisted but he moved quite quickly towards the birthday girl.

"And how is the newest member of my family?" he asked.

Hang on what's going on? she thought, turning to mum, she told them she wanted answers and she wanted them NOW.

"Well it's like this you see" said dad. "We love you Mary, but you don't belong to us anymore, you belong to Joseph.

They explained that on a child's sixteenth birthday in their family she's to marry the son of an elder, this being Joe.

"Hang on" shouted Mary, "are you devil worshippers?"

"No no" cried her dad "we're demons, we live above ground but we follow the old ways and this is one of them. We try to keep the old traditions alive, you know? like Easter"

Mary only had a few minutes to take all this in, she was to be married and then taken off to Joe's castle.

"Joe's what? 

Her mum nodded her head.

"You'll be fine love" she reassured her only child, "I was"

So Joe was a demon and he lived in a castle and they were to be married. This she took quite well, she decided she could live in a castle but where the hell was it?

The elderly man, Joe's grandad entered the room. 

"We're ready now young lady, time to come home"

Mary held her mothers hand and knew she had to go through with it.

"I'll miss you" she told them. They said they wanted to travel and that they'd catch up with her soon.

So this was why she had no friends, she'd have to leave them and if emotions got in the way then it would be disastrous. Her heart lurched as she thought about the changes that would now be happening to her. She looked up at Joseph, handsome and strong but with that vulnerability that she liked.

He bent down to kiss her when they'd made their vows and her lips stung, like a bee had emptied it's venom she hoped she didn't look like one of those women who'd overdone the botox.

The people who'd come to her birthday/wedding clapped and cheered for the young couple on the verge of a new life. Mary didn't know who any of them were and she didn't care either. Her parents had protected her from the world that she wasn't meant for and now she was ready to take on the challenge of this new one.

Joe's eyes glowed red and she felt quite a stirring in the pit of her stomach. 

"