Chapter 3 - Witchwood

As Stella glances around Witchwood, trying to keep an eye out for a straggling Edward, she notes that for once, their party isn’t the only obvious group of travelers. The children swarming around average about eight or nine, she guesses, with an older looking one glancing across their charges with a watchful eye. They're all dressed up, some in dark colors with pointy hats mimicking the very witches they’re terrorizing, others in bright shades and fake fairy wings. Stella likes those costumes especially. She watches as they group together, rush towards a house, knock on the door demanding sweets, and run away triumphantly.

Te’ijal, already giddy from her birthday, a fact she shared at least ten times in the morning, is enchanted by the festivities, giggling and pointing at specific costumes. Galahad makes a point to look in the opposite direction every time his wife grabs his arm and points him towards a zombie or ghoul.

“These vampires don’t look particularly accurate,” Mel mumbles. Stella glances between the caped children with painted white faces and the two vampires in their party, suppressing her laughter.

“Actually,” Te’ijal says, clearly delighted by the accuracy, “most of my friends have these exact outfits! Capes are a fashion staple, you know.”

“Remind me to get rid of mine,” Galahad mutters.

“Ugh.” Lydia rolls her eyes. “All of these costumes are hideous.”

Mel crosses their arms. “That’s the point! They’re supposed to be scary.”  

“Not necessarily,” Stella says in an attempt to mediate. “I like the pretty ones. Look, Lydia, that girl is a fairy queen–”

“With that tacky tiara? I don’t think so.”

Mel scoffs. “Because yours is sooo much prettier. If the witches are anything to go by, you should watch your mouth, because if you get on these kids’ bad sides, they’ll gobble you right up.”

“And if they don’t,” Te’ijal says, “my husband and I will!”

Galahad glares at his wife. “We will not!” He says, sternly, and then, more gently to Lydia, “we will not.”

"Gross." Lydia turns up her nose, grabs the front of her skirt, and moves forward a little faster." I am going to be walking far away from the woman who just made her third threat on my life today and go find Prince Edward instead. Stella, you are welcome to join me. Mel, stay put with your creepy friends."

...

Stella doesn't join her, Mel doesn't stay put, and Lydia doesn't find Edward. Te'ijal and Galahad split off to go to Heptitus's house in hopes of finding the quarter key amidst the chaos, Lydia veers in the exact opposite direction as quickly as she can, and Mel and Stella nearly run directly into an exhausted looking Edward carrying their newest supplies. The three quickly decide to stop by the inn to drop the contents of Edward’s shopping trip off before reconvening with the others.

As the trio walks through the town, Mel glances over at Stella. “Do you have any Halloween memories?” They ask, then frown and scrunch up their face. “I guess not. I meant more like… does this feel familiar to you? Bringing anything back?”

Stella barely has to think about it. “Not at all. I didn’t even know what it was until last week.” It was almost overwhelming, the immediate familiarity the rest of the party had with it. They’d been talking about it all week. Te’ijal burst into her origin story, Edward and Lydia described nobles’ costume parties, Mel talked warmly about blending in with costumed kids and stashing enough candy with Boden to last them for months. Galahad’s stance was a little more negative – he ranted about romanticizing demons and indoctrinating children into witchcraft – but he still knew enough about it to have an opinion.

Stella doesn't have any of that, and with the shared look her two best friends are giving her, she's beginning to feel weird about it. Their eyes are boring holes into her with love, she reminds herself, although she folds her arms a little defensively.

“Huh,” says Edward, contemplative.

“So,” reasons Mel, slowly beginning to grin, “you’ve never had Halloween candy.”

Stella shakes her head. “Is it different from regular candy?”

“This stuff probably is,” Edward muses.

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Mel is beaming now, a wild grin crossing their features, as they punch Edward fondly on the arm. “It’s fine. They’re feeding it to children. You don’t poison people you’re trying to appease. Which is good, because we’re about to feed a bunch of it to Stella.”

Stella’s eyes widen. “You’re what?”

“I need to find out what your favorite is! This is important, c’mon.” Suddenly, Mel grabs her hand in theirs and pulls her forward to a carved out pumpkin filled with shiny, foil-covered candy.  “Pick a couple out. Make sure they’re different colors. Then we’ll head on to the next house.”

Stella, equal parts bewildered and charmed, lets herself be led along. She selects one in a wrapper as bright a red as Te’ijal’s hair that smells faintly like strawberries and stuffs it in her bag. At Mel’s insistence, she grabs a chocolate shaped like a flat pumpkin, too, before heading on to the next house. Arriving at the front porch, she realizes they’ve lost Edward again somewhere in Mel’s sprint.  

“Are you sure the witches won’t curse us for doing this?”

Mel laughs as they walk up the steps of a front porch. “Absolutely not. We saved their asses, as far as they’re concerned.” They wait for a group of trick-or-treaters to collect their reward, then slide over to the cauldron on the doorstep.

A quarter hour later, Mel is finally appeased, and they let Stella lead them both back to the inn. Sitting down on the front steps, they reach over to grab her bag from her shoulder, and begin to sort out her selections.

“Ooh, I don’t recognize this.” Ripping open the small wax paper bag reveals a collection of small, brightly covered, vaguely slime shaped candies. Stella wrinkles her nose, but Mel pops one in their mouth carelessly. “It’s good! Kinda fruity. Wanna try?”

Stella considers protesting, but Mel's lopsided grin and the light dusting of sugar on the gummy are both compelling arguments. She smiles. “Yeah, sure.”

Mel beams, and reaches their hand to Stella’s, turning hers in theirs to deposit the candy into. She tries one of the gummies, chewing it thoughtfully. It’s sour, but not at all unpleasant. “These are good. Are you sure you don’t want more?”

“I’d rather you get the chance to try them,” Mel says, then pauses. “…But also, yeah, I would have another one.”

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