Your Majesty, the King:
Halloween Special - 2020
(READ ME: This does not in any way further the plot/ is part of the plot/ not canon. It's just a fun story for the holidays! You can skip this without missing anything important!)
On a dark, quiet night, somewhere deep in the lush elven woods of the Yursear Kingdom, stars twinkled in the cloudy sky as the full moon hung high in the air, illuminating a small group chatting happily around a warm campfire. Their happy voices filled the nearby forest with a breath of life, making even the most timid of animals peek their head out in curiosity.
It was only today, Halloween night, that the kingdom would have a rare truce between the raging war carried on by the humans and the elves in the Yursear kingdom. It was the sole day of peace and harmony between the two races, and the group would not let the day pass without celebrating at least a little.
On the middle of a long, mossy log was Emmeline. Though Emmeline had lost her life due to illness, the energy from the full moon was enough to make her materialize just for today so she could spend time with her beloved friends and family. Knowing today would be a special occasion, Emmeline carefully selected her costume to match Silas's, like the year previously. Donning a simple, cute black dress, and a small red cape with an upright hood and a basket full of goodies, Emmeline made an adorable Little Red Riding Hood. She was calling to someone still in the woods, waving her hand eagerly.
Silas, however, was too shy to show off his costume immediately. He stood off to the side of the pair, just by the forest, blushing red enough to emit a strong warm light.
"Silas, come over here. We only can spend time with each other today, and we want to see your costume! Emmeline's waiting for you!" Maeir, Silas's mother, was accompanied by his younger siblings, Cirdan and Aurelia. Though in the original plot line, Silas was unsure of their whereabouts and assumed they were dead after ten years, but in this Halloween special they are indeed alive and well.
Maeir, having been excited by the prospect of dressing up herself for once, gathered the twins and had their costumes made to match. With a pair of brown overalls and a plaid shirt stuffed with hay, Maeir looked no different than a normal scarecrow. Even the two red circles on her cheeks made her appear warm and cute, despite the normally fierce expressions on her face. Maybe it was the droopy straw hat with the sunflowers on her head?
The twins, sitting directly at her sides on the log to the left of Emmeline, were jumping up and down in their orange pumpkin costumes. Their little pumpkin hats lifted up and down as they chirped and called for Silas with eager expressions.
"Big brother, I want to see your costume!"
"Yeah, come show us!"
Only the top of Silas's head was visible from the shadows of the trees he was hiding behind. On his head sat a soft-looking grey wolf head, which hid the blush lingering on his ears. Holding the sides of his burning cheeks with the fuzzy paws of the costume, Silas sighed to himself and he worked up the courage to come out of the shadows and show off his costume. Taking one clumsy step at a time, due to the cumbersome fuzzy wolf boots, Silas stepped forward and finally stopped at Emmeline's side.
"Now look at that! Isn't that adorable." Maeir smiled at her son warmly.
Emmeline put down the tankard of juice in her hands and stood up to hold Silas's hands, which were covered by the large gloves. "Come sit down. We're still waiting on the prince and some others."
Hearing the names of the Yursear prince and his friend, Silas felt his skin crawl. He clenched his arms tightly with his hands as he tried to contain his anger. Seeing his bitter expression, Emmeline rubbed his back with her hand and led him to sit down on the end of the log, close to his family. The smile on her pale face was still as warm as it was when she was alive.
"Today's a special day, Silas. Let's put our differences aside and enjoy the party." Emmeline said gently.
Silas hummed in response, swallowing the bitter words he had placed on the tip of his tongue. With a slight frown, he picked up one of the tankards on the log table in front of the pair and took a small sip. With his costume and his expression, it made Silas look like a depressed dog that had been reprimanded by his owner. Emmeline giggled at him.
Maeir smiled at her son as she grabbed two of the smaller tankards on the log by her, passing the juice-filled mugs to Cirdan and Aurelia, who were still not quite old enough to drink. They happily took their juice and drank out of the cups like two drunkards. Their pumpkin costumes did not heed them from having a good time.
"I wonder when Clarence and Alywin will get here?" Emmeline asked aloud.
As if on cue, the bushes nearby rustled followed by the sound of voices. Out from the forest emerged Clarence and Alywin.
"Sorry for being late. It took us a while to find you guys." Alywin's voice rang through the clearing in the woods, and soon the sounds of twigs breaking and leaves rustling diminished as the pair stood on the edge of the forest, donning their Halloween costumes.
Alywin's costume suited his troublesome demeanor. With two small red horns on his head, he looked like a real devil. The front of his black suit was open, exposing the top of his chest and collarbone with a seductive feeling. The red cape around his shoulders added to the look, draping down to the backs of his knees, where the devil tail laid lip behind him. In his gloved hands was a large staff with three sharp points. They looked as if getting poked by them would hurt.
Clarence's costume, however, was a bit more troublesome. His costume consisted of a simple, long black hood and a fake scythe, dressed as a grim reaper. The hood draped over his young face and hid his dark navy blue hair from view. Under his cape was a black suit, well tailored and quite expensive to be placed underneath a costume.
As they emerged from the woods, everyone gasped and awkwardly looked at Clarence and his scythe, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Everyone glanced at Emmeline, who had a shocked look on her face, until she burst into laughter. Which caused everyone, except Silas, to laugh along with her. Clarence and Alywin still stood for a moment, confused, before Alywin jabbed Clarence in the side with his elbow and looked down at his scythe. Clarence shot Alywin a confused look, then quickly looked at Emmeline. Suddenly, Clarence gasped as his face quickly grew red. He turned around and whipped the scythe into the woods before turning back and awkwardly smiling at the group.
"Uh, what are the plans for the party?" Alywin said with a smile as he grabbed Clarence's elbow and dragged him close to the campfire, sitting down on one of the empty logs not far from Silas and his family. Emmeline smiled at them sweetly before getting up and passing both of them a mug of juice, which they gladly took.
"We're waiting for one more person, then we were going to tell some spooky stories." Emmeline said with a smile before returning to her spot next to the grimacing Silas. Their expressions were so contrasting, it was almost humerous.
"Maybe we should start now?" Alywin said, glancing over at Silas, who was radiating an uncomfortably oppressive aura, "I don't think the missing person will miss too much." Alywin mentioned with a shrug, not seeming to care either way.
Thinking that, they decided to continue on without their last, late guest. "Who wants to go first?" Maeir asked the group as she put her drink down on the small wood log in front of them.
"I'll go first!" Cirdan said, raising his hand with an excited look on his face. Maeir raised her eyebrow and looked at Cirdan with a critical stare, as if she knew exactly what the young boy was thinking.
"Why don't you let someone else go first, Cirdan?" She suggested lightly.
Cirdan turned his head to his mother with an angry pout, "Why?!" He looked aggrieved.
"Because I know what your story will be about, and it's not a story everyone wants to hear." Maeir said curtly, her lips in a flat line.
Aurelia looked between Cirdan and Maeir and spoke up, "But we want to tell the story about the mean, evil witch that makes children clean!" Aurelia replied, holding her fists up pleadingly.
Maeir's face contorted, and the red circles on her cheeks were almost out of place now as her expression chilled another degree. The others around the fire looked at the twins with nervous stares. "Oh, and where did you come up with that story from?" Maeir asked coldly, her eyes scanning the two sweating children.
"N-nowhere..." They squeaked out.
There was an awkward pause as the rest of the guests sat around the fire, trying to think of something to rekindle the previously jovial mood.
"I have one!" Emmeline broke the tension first and spoke up, holding her hand up over her head. Everyone quieted down as Emmeline began her story with a dark expression and her voice low. She spoke dramatically with her hands and began her tale, "Once, in a forest just like this, there was a young girl who got lost while playing," Emmeline paused, thinking, "Hide and seek with her friends. She thought she knew her way back, but she quickly discovered she was lost!"
Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their log seats, as they thought about how to get back home from here. The sky was already dark, and it was nearly impossible to see through the woods now, even with a torch.
"Soon, it began to get dark, just like it is right now!" Emmeline continued, her voice getting deeper as she wiggled her fingers in front of her, "And she realized she was lost in a dark forest! All by herself! She began to aimlessly wander around the forest, hoping to find the way home. She walked, and walked, and walked, with no end in sight. It was only until she heard a twig break that she spun around," The twins leaned forward as they grabbed each other's hands tightly, trembling lightly, "But no one was there." The twins sighed in relief as everyone else listened calmly, sitting on the edges of their seats, "She turned back around, ready to continue her walking, until she heard another twig break, this time much closer!" The twins shifted uncomfortably and moved closer to their mother, who sighed and wrapped an arm around both of them, "As she continued to walk, she kept hearing twigs and branches crack and break all around her. Soon she began to run, but now the bushes began to move all around her. As she ran, the bushes began to close all around her, and in her panic to get away, she fell into a hole! Never to be seen again!"
Everyone stayed silent for a moment, as the twins shook with fear at the thought of falling into a hole like that. Holding on to their mother's shirt with a tight grasp, some of the hay fell out and onto the ground in front of their feet. Emmeline giggled as she lowered her hands, seemingly proud of herself.
"That was," Alywin said, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, "An anti-climatic ending."
Emmeline laughed lightly as Silas practically growled at the little devil, "I don't want to scare Cirdan and Aurelia too much. This is supposed to be a fun party, and they can't have fun if they're too scared to move."
"I thought it was a spooky ending!" Clarence said with an awkward smile after he glared at Alywin, tempted to smack the young noble for being rude.
"Thank you!" Emmeline said with a warm smile, which made Clarence's face flush. Silas's eyebrows knitted even further as he glared at Clarence, whose face continued to redden from the attention from Emmeline.
"I have one!" Silas said with a tight smile, his eyes flicking over to Clarence and Alywin. His thoughts that had been stewing from the start of the night finally boiled over, and he could not help but say, "It's a scary story about an ignorant, ugly prince and his smart-mouth, troll sidekick."
"Oh, really?" Alywin hummed to himself, returning the tight smile. His face was very sweet as he responded in a similarly sarcastic tone, "I have a story too! It's about a boorish, barbarian elf who has a big mouth."
Maeir's eyebrow twitched as she looked at the two as they glared daggers at each other. Though the pair were sworn enemies, this was the only night in the year they would have peace and could celebrate as one. She would not let the pair ruin it, especially her own troublesome son, who was looking for trouble. "I have an even better one. It's about me throwing both of you in the forest with no lights or way back if you don't stop."
Silas and Alywin glared at each other one more time before looking away with a huff. It was as if they had their arms crossed after having a heated argument about playground toys, and they were interrupted by their teacher and asked to apologize to each other.
There was a short cough, and then someone spoke up, "An-Anyone else?" Emmeline felt awkward, trying to return the festive mood to the party.
"I can go!" Clarence said, getting excited. He wanted to keep the atmosphere up too. It was supposed to be a fun day, and he did not want to ruin it by falling out with the elf and his family once again.
Everyone got silent as Clarence cleared his throat, but before they could start, they heard a twig break in the distance. Everyone whipped their heads towards the sound and waited, but the forest was quiet again, so they turned back, and Clarence cleared his throat again. As he opened his mouth to speak, another twig broke, this time the sound was much closer to the party than before. Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably, then everyone looked at Emmeline.
"I promise I'm not doing it!" Emmeline said, her face slightly stricken with fear. Her hand were up at her sides as she shook her head innocently.
"It's not us either!" Clarence yelled back in response, shaking his head rapidly like a chicken.
Another twig broke, this time behind Clarence and Alywin. The two young humans yelped loudly and ran over to the other side of the fire, where Emmeline and Silas stood up. The pair hid behind the married couple as if they themselves were hiding behind their parents. Silas's face fell with aggravation, but he focused on protecting Emmeline, while Maeir sighed with annoyance as she comforted the shaking twins. Her eyes narrowed, but she kept herself seated, as she had already known what had been approaching them.
"Okay, what was that?!" Clarence whispered loudly, trying to control the fear in his voice.
"I'm sure it's a wild animal." Maeir said plainly, patting the heads of the twins.
Another twig broke, this time to the side of the huddled group, and the bushes near them rustled loudly.
Someone yelped, which caused another person to scream, which sent the group into a screaming panic.
"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Clarence screamed loudly, clutching Alywin tightly.
"Grab your sword, you idiot!" Alywin said loudly, trying to shake off Clarence, so Alywin could grab the dagger strapped to his hip.
"Silas?" Emmeline said, clutching Silas's hand in one hand and a dagger in her other.
"It's fine." Silas said weakly, not even reassuring himself.
Maeir continued to sit calmly, as the twins sobbed loudly, clutching her shirt. Everyone held their breath as they looked on towards the woods, where the sounds had originated from.
The rustling sound intensified as the fog in the surrounding woods made the outlines of the trees harder and harder to differentiate between the shadows of the trees and human figures hidden deep in the woods. The cold howl of the wind was no better, and it instead made the panicking group scream more. Everyone could hear their own heartbeats in their ears. As their fear grew, so did their temptation to run away.
Suddenly, something jumped out of the woods and ran towards the group with clumsy steps.
Everyone, except the cool Maeir, screamed loudly and flimsily held up their swords with a mix of terror and fear.
It was not until a moment later, that everyone saw what had scared them so terribly. "Sorry I'm late everyone!" A voice called out happily as they ran close to the fire, finally revealing their face.
It was Redford.
Redford smiled happily as a large pair of black cat ears on his head began to droop slightly. The bow on his cat tail swung as he ran, making his appearance more awkward than before. The tight black cat suit he wore did not help his case in the least. It could be said that the suit fit him well, even though it was obviously not his.
"I'm sorry I'm late! I got lost on my way here." He bowed his head as his entire face flushed red. The group stared in disbelief, their weapons still drawn, at the panting, smiling young soldier. "Adora couldn't come, so they sent me instead! And I, uh, didn't have another costume, so I'm wearing Adora's!" He smiled happily, until he looked around at the group, who continued to stare in disbelief, "Guys? Listen, I know the costume is a little weird, but you don't need to stare like that."
"R-Redford! Why can't you join the group like a normal person?!" Silas sighed loudly in frustration before sheathing his sword, "We could've killed you just then!" His heart was still pounding.
"Uh, not to offend you, sir, but none of you looked like you were going to do anything but wet yourselves." Redford said, getting a little bashful at the end. Everyone else stared a long stare at Redford before following Silas's lead and sheathing their swords.
"I need a drink." Alywin said, shaking his head heavily. He looked at the small wooden table by Maeir as he walked over, past Silas and Emmeline, and grabbed a mug.
"That actually sounds delightful." Silas said with an exasperated sigh, looking over at the mugs himself with a tired expression.
"Would you like one, Maeir?" Emmeline asked as she got up, patting the front of her dress.
"I'll have two." Maeir stated as she shook her head at the pathetic bunch she was with.
"Oh, I'll get one too!" Redford said happily as he walked around the fire and joined the relieved group.
Soon, everyone was drinking and laughing, enjoying the company of everyone and the warmth of the fire. They danced and sang like drunkards. Clarence found his courage after a drink or two and wound up telling a very funny story, and it had many of the group members in tears as they laughed uncontrollably. There was even some other horror stories told after, but many of them had happy endings, and some were finished by others in the group. It became a long night of laughter and fun, and as the fire began to die out, and the drunken, content group prepared to part ways. They turned to each other with happy, flushed faces and cheered out as a group.
"We can't forget the most important thing!" Emmeline said with a happy smile. They formed a big group and shouted happily into the clear, dark sky.
"Happy Halloween!"