Hallow King

Sweet Sleepers

Leiah buried herself underneath her blankets, yawning as she puffed her pillow up a bit before resting her head on it. She was exhausted after coming back home, and although Hallow didn't want her to sleep just yet, she had to. Even if it had been dark all day- and would most likely be night for as long as the Halloween spirit stayed- Leiah was sure in the normal world the sun had already set.

Tyrell had dropped of the two pumpkins in the main hall, and they promised Hallow that after a few hours of sleep the both of them would wake up early to start carving. Hallow didn't seem too happy, as he had no one to bother since everyone had retreated to their separate rooms. Nonetheless, he was forced to let Leiah and Tyrell go while he was left to wander the castle by himself.

Leiah sealed her eyes shut, the lit candle by her bedside flickering behind her eyelids. The scent of candy and spice filled the room as she took in a deep breathe of air and suddenly drifted off into a deep slumber.

It wasn't long after when the sound of something scraping against the window caused her to stir in her sheets. It persisted for a while now until she could no longer take it. With a loud huff, she tossed the blankets aside and jumped off the bed, marching towards the window with an angry scowl on her face.

With hasty hands, she fumbled with the lock on the glass exterior and pushed it open with all her might, peering outside. "Who is that?" she demanded, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she examined the outer world. Before she could bolt the window shut once more, a tall familiar figure walked through the trees and stopped before her- their burning head staring directly at Leiah. She tried to shield her eyes from the bright fire, "What are you doing out here? It's not even time yet." Hallow snickered, pleased that the woman was now awake, "You've been resting  for two hours ,while I'm here walking aimlessly around like a fool." He cocked his head to inspect her room with a large, pointy grin, "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"Hallow, please," Leiah begged, her heavy eyelids forcing themselves back down, "It's too early, come back in a couple more hours." Hallow noticed the princess was beginning to doze off again, "Fine, fine. I'll come back later." And with that, he turned away from Leiah and walked towards another window on the other side of the castle. Peeking inside the slightly dusty glass, he caught sight of a man sprawled all over a bed in the corner of a dark room. It was Tyrell, and his mouth was gaped wide open- a loud unusual snore emitting from deep inside his core.

"How horrid," Hallow mused and tapped the window repeatedly. Tyrell only twitched, but he did not get up. Hallow continued, this time a little harder. The dozing man inside immediately shot up and looked around in stupor, reaching for his sword on a chair nearby. It was only when he noticed a burning pumpkin head outside that he slapped his forehead and pulled the glass barrrier up, unamused and very upset.

"What is it, Hallow?" Tyrell asked in a deep, groggy voice. Hallow let out a loud laugh, pointing  at the human before him, "Look at you! Those bags under your eyes and your hair...ha! If anyone were to see you like this they'd think you were a beggar on the streets. You'd fit in- ."

"Bye." Tyrell spat out and prepared to shut his window when Hallow stuck his hand inside.

"I'm the one who ends this conversation, not you."

"What in the world can you possibly want? Everyone is asleep for crying out loud!"

Hallow hissed at the man who took a step or two back in surprise. "Because you are acting quite rude..." Hallow begin to claw his way inside the room while Tyrell watched quietly, pinching himself and praying that he was just having a nightmare.

"I'm going to make you stay up and entertain me." The large spirit sat down on a side table as it creaked underneath his weight, "If you dare to defy me, I will carve your head and use it as a decoration piece for the party." Tyrell reached for his face, swallowing as he stayed standing, unsure of what to do next.

"I don't understand why you humans get so upset when someone wakes you up. Why, Leiah really did look like an evil queen." Hallow grumbled to himself as he picked up a piece of armor next to him, inspecting it with disinterest.

"You woke Leiah up?"

"Of course I did."

Tyrell gripped on tight to the ends of his shirt, trying hard not to show his anger, "Leave Leiah out of what you're doing." Hallow's frown deepened as he stood up and strode casually towards the man with a strict face. "And just what is it I'm doing? The princess is happy and frankly that's all that matters." A menacing grin grew on his mouth, "Ahaaa. I see it, now."

Tyrell froze, "What?"

Hallow chuckled with an all knowing look, "You like the lovely woman, don't you?" The guard immediately broke eye contact and turned away, biting his tongue as he failed to come up with a proper response.

"No, this isn't just any silly crush," Hallow teased, his heavy laugh echoing around the shut room, "You absolutely adore her. My, youre in lo-!"

"Just stop," Tyrell suddenly interrupted, his jaw tightening, "You're mad to think that a simple guard like me can fall for the princess." He finally found the will to look back up, "If you spread those lies around, the king will hear of it and I will be-" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"You will be given another job and won't ever be with your precious love again. Is that it?" Hallow finished with a look of disgust, "Repulsive romance."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as Hallow roamed around, opening drawers and pulling out different objects. He grumbled as he found nothing of interest and faced Tyrell once more, "Cat got your tongue? Say something clever. Tell me a joke, a story, anything." Tyrell sighed deeply, sitting down on the edge of his bed as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Just promise me you won' tell anyone about what we just talked about," he stated in a low, yet earnest voice.

Hallow didn't exactly like keeping promises, and he usually asked for a favor in return. Slyly, he added, "If you promise to be an obedient human, I won't tell a living soul." Tyrell seemed a bit relieved, as he expected something worse to come out of the unpredictable King's mouth, "It's a deal."

"Excellent. Now hop on that bed and sing while I sit here and enjoy you making a fool of yourself."

Tyrell stiffened as he grinded his teeth against each other, "I don't know how to sing." Hallow shot him a cold glare, "I wonder if the old king is up yet."

Tyrell crawled on the bed and felt his cheeks redden with embarrassment as he began to shyly sing an old folk song his mother used to chant to him every night.

Never in his 24 years of living did he ever think he would be singing to a deadly supernatural being in his own bedroom. It was highly uncomfortable and he felt that his loud howling was sure to wake up those down the hall. Hallow cackled out loud, slapping his thigh at the high, unnatural shrieks Tyrell accidentally blurted out every now and then. He didn't bother to finish the song, and instead stopped halfway, "There. That's all of it."

Hallow clapped his hands together at the end, wiping his glowing eyes, "That was most horrific! I do have to tell the princess about this one. Before you say anything against it- remember what we said. Obedience." Tyrell felt even more ashamed and prayed that Hallow wouldn't dare tell anything to the princess in the morning.

For the remainder of the night, he was forced to stay up and listen to the king's ghastly stories and morbid jokes. Though they weren't to his taste, the guard made sure to pretend he was entertained. If the spirit saw the slightest disinterest in him, he was sure the other wouldn't hesitate to tell the king or even worse, Leiah herself, about his affections towards the woman. It was a secret he had to keep hidden no matter what. After all, he felt that deep inside, Leiah would never look at him the same way he looked at her.