Hallow King

Pumpkin Patch

"Hurry up. You two are so very slow."

Leiah quickly tried to catch up to Hallow while Tyrell trailed after her, clearly unamused by what was happening.

Once the "dinner game" had ended, the Halloween King escorted the two into an isolated, large ballroom after having them change into more comfortable clothing . He informed them both of a grand party he wanted to hold in a couple of days. 

"I want it to be grisly, haunting, and delicious. I do hope it turns out well," Hallow had proclaimed, pacing the cold floor with wild gestures. "Why don't you just use your magic to make everything exactly how you want it?" Tyrell asked, crossing his arms and looking around the bleak room with a slight frown. "Magic? No. I want you and the princess to organize this party. The young lady seems to have a thing for decorating." Leiah clapped her hands in joy, clearly pleased with the task her and her guard were given. "Yes, that will be fantastic!" And so it was settled, much to Tyrell's dismay.

Hallow informed them that there was a pumpkin patch right next to the cemetery not too far from where they currently were. He told them the first thing they should learn was to carve pumpkins. And so together, the trio left the castle walls and walked straight past the village. 

"Tyrell, if you don't turn that frown upside down, I'll carve your head instead." The young man immediately began to smile until his cheeks ached. "Hallow, are we almost there?" A tired Leiah interjected, never realizing how far the cemetery was from her home. "Are you exhausted already?"

"Just a bit," she responded, "I hate going up hill-ah!" Much to Leiah's surprise, Hallow grabbed a hold of the small woman's waist and rose her up from the ground, placing her on his shoulder. "Careful not to burn yourself, princess." Leiah nodded vigorously, slightly embarrassed yet at the same time amazed. She was so high up, she felt she could touch the clouds. "Hallow," Tyrell suddenly broke in, marching up to the tall beings side, "It's not safe for her to be up there. She can fall and break her arm, neck or leg. I should be the one carrying-."

"Do shut up."  Tyrell said nothing else and stayed quiet while Leiah failed to acknowledge the bitterness between the two. She could see the village far behind them, glowing softly in the darkness. The woman even outstretched her hand and ripped some high branches from a few trees. "The view up here is wonderful. Tyrell, you must see things from this perspective." Hallow snickered as the man below him grumbled to himself, turning away from the joyful young soul.

"I can see the pumpkins from here," Leiah declared after a few more minutes. She was very eager to go and pick one out already, so much that she gently urged Hallow to walk a bit faster. He agreed, of course, and left poor Tyrell behind.

Hallow finally stepped foot inside the patch, large lanterns illuminating the different orange delights each laid out in neat rows. "Off you go, lovely Leiah. Pick whichever one you like," Hallow knelt down on one knee and let the girl slide off his shoulder. She bounced around from one place to another- a large grin on her face. Hallow watched the scene before him with satisfaction, only turning away when the sound of a wheezing man caught his attention.

Tyrell panted loudly, wiping the sweat from his head as he dropped on his knees before the tall creature. Hallow scoffed, inspecting the exhausted human,"Try and keep up, will you?"

"Wha-how can I? You're much bigger than me it's impossible to 'keep up'!" 

Hallow's eyes narrowed as he poked the top of the confused man's head, "Does someone want me to carry them as well?" Tyrell shook his head aggressively, sitting up properly in an attempt to appear more alive, "Of course not. I can manage on my own."

"You can? Excellent. Once you and Leiah pick out your pumpkins, I'll grant you the pleasure of carrying both of them back to the kingdom."

Tyrell nodded, then immediately shook his head as he realized what the spirit had told him, "Surely you're joking?" Hallow crossed his arms and looked down at the man with a serious expression on his carved face, "Not this time. Now go on and pick something quick or I'll choose another squash for you to carry as well."

Tyrell didn't have to be told twice. As he ran off to join Leiah, Hallow puffed up his chest with pride.

"Are these your pets?"

Hallow peered down and spotted a familiar little girl with bright, black eyes and a large witch's hat on her head. She looked up and grinned from ear to ear, waving. "Little Vicky. Always appearing out of nowhere like a ghost. What are you doing here?" Vicky brushed her bangs away from her forehead and giggled, "I watched you making your way here from the town so I decided to drop by." The Halloween king bent down so that he was a little closer to his unexpected companion, "And how are the tiny mortals in that town behaving?" Vicky shook her head from side to side, cupping her hands around her mouth as she whispered to an eager Hallow, "They're all afraid. I think it's the zombies, though. The poor guys keep trying to converse with the fleshies, but those folk act like they've never seen a corpse before."

Hallow didn't seem pleased and straightened up, tapping his pumpkin head in deep thought. After a few moments of silence, he snapped his fingers, "They will soon learn to love all that I have given them. Why, I have a princess on my side. She'll help me willingly."

"Are you sure about that?" Vicky asked curiously, watching the two humans. Hallow nodded once as he pointed to the girl, "Just look at her. Is she not radiating that energy we need? I'm telling you, my little friend. No one will dare defy a kind, Halloween-loving princess."

"I got one!" Leiah grasped on tight to a perfectly round, medium sized pumpkin. Tyrell, of course, chose the smallest one, as he wished to ease the burden he will soon inflict upon himself. "Wonderful choice! Tyrell, you know what to do. Princess, allow me to escort you back to your kingdom." Hallow turned once towards Vicky before making his way to Leiah, "Have a lovely night, little witch. If anything else doesn't go as planned, do let your king know. Immediately."

"Yes, your highness." The girl watched as Hallow walked over to Leiah, rolling her pumpkin at the direction of the guard. As Tyrell grunted and struggled to lift up the heavy object, both Hallow and Leiah left the patch and headed towards the direction of her home.

As the two silently walked side by side into a dense forest filled with dead trees, Leiah glanced behind her at the distant pumpkin patch and asked, "Who was that little girl and what was she wearing?" Hallow was about to laugh out loud, but he stopped as he remembered that the princess had never experienced Halloween before. It was only natural she didn't know what the different costumes looked like.

"That was Catarina's daughter. She's a gifted young child and mostly takes after her father. The darling little thing likes to dress as a witch. I'm certain you've never met one before?" Leiah shook her head slowly, repeating the word 'witch' as she looked around their environment in deep thought, "So it's a costume? I've only read a small paragraph about it in a book once. It didn't really describe what people dressed up as, though."

Hallow scoffed, stopping in his tracks as he turned to his companion, "Forget the books! You can experience things first hand now." His glowing eyes landed on a large rock just a few steps away from them, "Stand on that boulder over there. I'm going to show you something you'll never forget."