If you haven't read the last chapter, here's a quick recap before we begin: Jack crossed passed with Dearborn and got on her bad side. She became Murgatroyd and got on her weird side (Murgatroyd was a sexy cop and was hitting on Jack, who then just wanted to save himself). Finally, Rook saved the day in her flower costume and waved them off with some candy.
Morrigan's POV
I stomp down the path to the next house, my fingers curling. I realise too late that I'm still grasping Jack's arm because a small gasp escapes his lips. I let go and kept walking, ignoring the anger mixed in with the jealousy.
Wait, jealousy? I'm not jealous!
I sigh; maybe I am. This night has not been a good night, maybe just one more house, and then we can finally throw in the towel and get back to the hotel. I'm tired. I yawn and turn to the driveway. I open my eyes, the yawn stopping in my mouth.
A tree, not just any tree, but a great elf tree. It's gargantuan, the branches thick and the leaves lush. It has a dark red wooden door complete with directories to the left. Square windows are placed at random intervals on the tree trunk. But that's not the weirdest thing. There's a person facing away from us and standing in front of the door wearing dark blue shoes, shorts, and a long-sleeved shirt. He also has a dark blue pointed hat on his head, with some sort of leaf. He is wearing an orangish wig, giving him the look of a doll. Elf ears complete the look.
I almost laugh. Almost, because there's something frightening. Something...off. Then he turns, and I can see his face.
I was expecting a boy to wear that outfit, but it's a man. A serious-looking man with black, shiny eyes. Rosy cheeks contrast the almost-translucent skin stretched out on his face. There is grey at his temples, where little of the hair can be seen. A scar cuts through his eyebrow.
Ezra Squall. But he's in some comical elf outfit.
"Princess Holly, is that you!?" he skips over to us, and I freeze. His voice sounds...weird. Higher pitched, and like a child's. He stumbles but regains his balance. Finally, he reaches us and gazes at me as if I'm the only one there. I look around for the others to make sure I am not.
"Holly, look, it's Gaston." He shows a ladybug on his finger. It crawls along his index fingers. Then it takes flight, right into Hawthorne's face, who makes the mistake of screaming. It flies into his mouth. He coughs it into his hand, and it's enveloped in mucous. He looks sad.
"Why do you keep calling me 'Holly'?" I ask.
"Because you're Princess Holly, from Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom." He leers.
"Um, I'm just a fairy princess, and I don't know what that is. Sorry, we're leaving." I turn but stop when he replies:
"Wait? What!" Squall scoffs, "but I've been waiting all night for you to come! You can't just go now!" He pulls out fairy bread stuffed into the pocket of his blue shorts and eats it, butter and sprinkles smudged on his cheeks and lips. Hawthorne gazes mournfully at it.
"Anyway, I'm Ben," he says, "I couldn't find anyone to be Holly." So I assume I am Holly then, some fairy princess girl from a show I didn't even know existed.
"Don't tell me you haven't watched Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom!?" Hawthorne gasps like it's the end of the world. It probably is, for him at least.
"She hasn't even watched it?" Squall's mouth turns down at the corners, exaggerated.
"I haven't," I pull myself together, "and I don't want to know what it is. Are you going to give us candy or not?"
"I don't have candy." He looks, if possible, even more sad.
"Waste of time," Cadence mutters next to my ear. For some reason, her comment makes me want to stay with this man. Hallowmas is almost over; people are going to bed. From the looks of it, he was waiting for one more person. Or maybe just one person.
"I thought nobody would come; that's why I didn't get any. I was right until you came." Again, he addresses only me. But what he said makes me feel, if possible, even worse. Even though I am tired as heck about all this, I step closer to him.
"Okay, how do I make this night better for you?" I ask.
"Give me your candy, all of you." He finally acknowledges the others. I look at all our candy and almost cry. There isn't much because our encounters with the three other houses took all night long. Just our luck.
But the fact that Squall dressed as a kid's TV show character is robbing us of our candy, that we spent all night collecting, even though it's the saddest amount of candy in all Nevermoor, makes me want to throw up all over his pink-cheeked face.
But it's not like he's giving us a choice, and before things have a chance to get dirty, I drop my candy at his feet. The others follow suit. He grabs fistfuls of fairy bread and stuffs them into my hand, but I do not recoil. Even though it's gross as hell. He then watched us all leave silently. I sigh.
At least Hawthorne was happy about that, with him inhaling a ladybug and all.
But now I got sprinkles and butter on my hands, as well as zero candy.
This night was a waste. Now I just want to go back to the Deucalion.
Written: 4 + 5 November 2021
Published: 5 November 2021
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Deucalion Family One-Shots
FantasyA few short scenarios of life at the Hotel Deucalion. Requests are welcome!
