Fantasy Love Love Love! Quest

[Rida]

Esther Bellerose


"Alayna!" Esther piped, pulling her friend into a quick hug. She hadn't seen Alayna for the good part of the past week, and was happy to finally get to spend some time with her. She closed the book partially to answer Alayna's question about its title. "An epic classic, amica mio."


And that's when everything turned orcaward.


Before she knew it, Lorelei was hastily pulling Theo into a long kiss, hitting her stomach with an odd pang. The notion of the two of them together just didn't sit right with her.





Sounds like someone's jeal-


Esther quickly silenced her thoughts before they could ruin her mood any further. She didn't bother with emotions often, and was sure as hell not going to delve any deeper today and let them spoil a good shopping spree.


A milk white van ambled into the parking lot, and Esther lit up at the sight of it, more than happy for a distraction. The 2014 Ford Transit Connect had her parent's bakery logo painted on the side--Florentine's Bakery--along with an address and a phone number. "There she is," Esther exhaled, recalling the weekend she spent painting it, and the first time she got to sit behind its wheel. Ushering her group to the car, she introduced each of them to her mother as they got in, shrugging when her mom cast her a confused look at the oddity of their names.


Elle and Takao seemed to be straggling behind, but soon joined the group once again. Once all 6 seats in the back were taken, Esther climbed into the front passenger seat and buckled in. Looking behind, she noticed that Izaria looked like she was about to puke, and after a moment, decided to think nothing of it.





If you pretend she won't throw up all over your car, maybe she won't throw up all over your car.


It took a couple tries to start the car up, and when the engine finally roared to life, she looked back once again and gave the rest of the passengers a thumbs up, shooting Izaria a warning scowl before turning back to face the road. The next half hour consisted of Esther's short, slightly chubby mother blabbering on about "Italian this" and "Italian that", Alayna making occasional jeers at Lorelei, Theo going on about some alien ship--which Esther aggravatingly found kind of cute--and a short exchange of glares between Esther and Izaria.


"We're here!" Esther's mom chimed, her accent ever so present as she parked the car a long walk away from the mall. Theo and the rest piled out of the car eagerly, and Esther couldn't blame them--it was only a matter of time before her family's battered car finally gave up. As Esther was about to unbuckle her seatbelt, her mother pulled her close and whispered, "Veglia su i tuoi amici strani, stella," before letting Esther get out and giving her a quick wave goodbye.





"Watch over your strange friends, star."

 

[KroNicc115]

Takao Kieran: Hero of Sofya


@Lithia


Takao walked up to Elle and pulled her away from the distracted crowd. On the other side of the tree where no one would really pay attention to the two. "I guess you can say I am on a bit of a mission my friend and companion." Takao took a bit of a deep breath. "You have been my friend for quite some time now Ellowyn. And to be honest I don't see us as just friends..I see us as being something more. If you still don't have a date to this party tonight. I would be more than happy to bring you as my date?" A smile flushed over Takao's face, the nervousness was over finally.

 

[Lithia]

Ellowyn Autumnleaf


Elle followed Takao around the tree and away from the group of people. She was slightly confused for a minute, shouldn't they be heading towards the van taking them to the mall? But when Takao took a deep breath and began explaining his feelings to her Elle's confusion faded into a shy blush. Takao was the Hero of Sofya, the one who would defeat the Demon King and save them all. Elle was a Fae princess engaged to another, but Takao had told her he had a plan to get out of the engagement. It seemed like he could save her in more than one way after all.


Elle smiled, "Takao, I never knew you felt that way about me. I would love to go to the Halloween dance with you." Suddenly her vow to aid him in his quest seemed much more important to her than ever before.

 

[Defective Kitten]

Greysen followed Lucius' lead in drawing out the sigil on the outside while he worked on the inner, the progress coming well for her as she worked diligently finish her part. "Lucius.." Her voice seemed to trail a bit with his name before picking back up again, "What if this doesn't work? What if we never get back?" Eyes glanced up just for a quick second towards him but returned back down at the floor, her hands and arms moved undisturbed from the sigil. I don't want to feel so small and weak anymore. Her eyes still looked towards the ground but showed a rather disheartened expression on her face, something rarely ever seen from the previous Greyson.


@ZaiKai


(Sorry for the late replies, I'm still trying to figure out my schedule)

 

[ZaiKai]

Demon King Lucius Virgil Rugia


@Defective Kitten


"It will work," Lucius says, convinced. "A while back, I actually tested using a microwave for magic and it worked. So either this is going to work..." He pauses, then looks up at Greysen. "Or we'll be sent to some sort of microwave dimension, eh?" He chuckles a bit before putting one last finishing touch on the sigil. "Anyway, let's start setting up the microwaves, shall we?" Lucius sets down his pen, going over to the microwaves and lifting two of them, slowly carrying them over to the correct spot.

 

[housekat]

Izaria climbs out of the car and gets down on all fours. "Sweet, sweet Earth, I've never been so grateful for the ground beneath my feet..." She chants softly like a mantra. It was practically Hell in that car with Esther sending warning glares at her and her just being in a lot of pain. The mall was a huge structure with humans streaming in and out of it. She started painfully gathering herself up so she could start toward the mall with their large, strange group.


Inside the mall was even bigger, and with what seemed like.. stone people lined the windows and inside the shops. Maybe they were criminals and the mall wanted to display them so people wouldn't try and steal. There were so many stores lining 2 floors that she was astonished anyone knew how to actually get around the place. Wow Izaria thought. Humans must really like trying to steal. Suddenly Esther, who was leading the group, made a sharp turn into one of the larger shops. There were heads on the walls that were definitely not human. Slowly and cautious going up to touch a grotesque on with a large axe on the top, she said "Is this a beast hunter's place?"


There were a few in Sofya, though they were mostly poaching rarer animals for potions and such. There were also bags filled with large bundles of fabric inside them. Maybe that was individual parts like blood vials, claws, tails, etc?

 

[Sen Pai]

Lorelei Z. Angelies


Some mall in some place.


@DestinyRed @Rida @verifiedkat @Nikolajsen (mentioned)


The trip to the mall was agonizing. Alayna wouldn't keep quiet about Lorelei and Theo's fake relationship and said Lorelei's cheeks were burning a bright red from embarrassment. It wasn't the type of embarrassment that you feel when friends tease you about your significant other either; this embarrassment was that of a Chinese young lady who didn't bring honour to her family because she set the Matchmaker on fire. So, yes. You could say that Lorelei was glad to get out of the car.


Disregarding almost all of her manners, Lorelei gave Esther's mother a grateful nod as she pushed her way out of the van. Lorelei crouched into a ball on the sidewalk, taking deep breaths before suddenly standing up and smacking a tall, slim human without a face. She shrieked in horror. "Oh my god! What happened to them?!" Lorelei pointed in fear at the faceless human who stood in a fashionable pose. The humanoid creature was a lot like the minions of the Puppeteer of the North but something about their stillness freaked Lorelei out. The creatures that Izaria was looking at didn't help either.

 

[KroNicc115]

Takao Kieran: Hero of Sofya


@Lithia


Takao's face instantly lit up with happiness. He hadn't felt this way in years. The feeling of love. "R-really you will? Well thank you m'lady." He reached down and locked his fingers with hers. "So I suppose we should get going to the mall soon?" Maybe Takao could find out what she was going to where, if it was anything like the outfits all Fae wore, she would be absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Lithia]

​

Ellowyn Autumnleaf


Elle held Takao's hand the whole way to the mall. It was only when they got there and she needed Esther to help her get her dress that she let go. "I'll be back in a little bit, Esther is just going to help me with my costume," she told him with a smile.


This whole place was weird, Elle had no idea how they would find a dress here. "Umm.... Esther?" Elle said quietly so no one else would hear, "Do you think we can go look for a dress before we get something to eat?" She was really worried that she wouldn't be able to find the right kind of dress. It was more important now that Takao was taking her to the dance, she had never been on a date before. Her stomach was filled with pixies fluttering around making her feel extra nervous and jumpy.

 

[Rida]

[fitting in these last long posts before you lovelies depart]


Esther Bellerose


Esther led Ellowyn up the escalator to the second floor, chuckling at the utter bewilderment clear in her eyes. Esther had only ever assumed that the new students were simply drug addicts from some Midwest state, and had left it at that. However, seeing their amazement and confusion only grow in this world, she began to wonder if they really were telling the truth--if they really were magical creatures, lost in a magic-less world.


"Yeah, we're gonna spend a bit in the boutique I mentioned before, Fashion Passion, before heading over to eat." Esther replied, happy for a reason to visit her cousin, Alessia. Any time she shopped at the small dress shop, Alessia made sure to lower her total to something a couple hours of math tutoring and babysitting could afford.


"So...you and Takao?" she asked nonchalantly, guiding Ellowyn past clothing store after clothing store. It's not as if no one had noticed the fact that the two of them were suddenly so close--one could only assume that Elle and Takao were together, what with all the secretive conversations and hand-holding.


As for whatever was going on between Lorelei and Theo, Esther found it much easier to believe in the transfers' willy statements if it meant Lorelei and the rest were zapping themselves back home soon; hopefully never to bother Fortuna Academy's quaint town ever again.


---


The interior of the small store gave off a homely yet classy aura, boasting high-quality dresses and accessories exclusively for teenage girls and young adults. Esther gestured around the store, giving Elle the freedom to roam all she wanted, and to meet her by the register when she'd found a fitting dress. Walking over to the familiar brunette behind the cash register, Esther gave Alessia a hug, engaging in the norm of small talk with her second cousin.


Alessia soon rushed to the back storage room, realizing she'd forgotten to go through the new shipment of dresses, and Esther was left alone to ponder over her predicament. Ever since Lucius, Takao, Ellowyn, Izaria, Greysen, Autumn, Lorelei, and Isis had inserted themselves into the flow of Fortuna, Esther daily routine had been turned inside out. Before their sudden appearance, her life in this town, though uneventful, had been great; she managed to afford a high-class high school, she had a wonderful family, and a decent amount of internet fame.


At the thought of her reputation online, Esther realized that she'd never once updated her blog since the arrival of the new students.





Yet another side effect of hanging out with Sofyans, I assume.

 

[Lithia]

Ellowyn Autumnleaf


Elle blushed when Esther mentioned Takao, "Ummm yes he asked me to accompany him to the dance. It's kind of exciting, I've never been on a date before." She ran her hand through her hair shyly, "Have you ever been on a date?" Elle was nervous asking such a personal question but she really wanted to know what a date was like. In between chatting with Esther, Elle eyed the dresses around her, there were a few pretty ones but it wasn't until Esther went to talk to her cousin and Elle really looked that she found the perfect dress. It was beautiful, pale cream with thin straps that looked like little vines. It had a low back and would fit tight to her body then flare out around her at the bottom. Surprisingly enough the dress was covered in sparkling fabric flowers so she could use the flowers she had picked for her hair. This was a dress fit for a Faery. She was so excited, the dance was going to be perfect.

 

[Gabauchi]

Karl was lost. Very lost. As a matter of fact, one could say that he had absolutely no idea where he was. He just wasn't good with directions. Especially at this school. He was dissapointing himself at this point. He decided to do a run-through of his options

• Ask for help
  
• Find advice from anime
  
• Wander around helplessly
  

The third option wasn't getting him anywhere. And he didn't see anyone around. Suddenly, a voice rang out through his head.


"When you're lost in you go up..."




This advice was absolutely useless. However, it was all he had. As he turned the corner, he neared a door. Maybe it leads to a staircase, he thought to himself.


He pushed the door open. Oh, it


went downwards. He began to turn around, however, he heard voices coming from downstairs. Time for option two then! Then, ignoring the question of why anyone was in the basement, he descended the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he was met with a peculiar sight. Two people were setting up microwaves around a strange drawing on the floor. The odd sight made Karl forget all about his predicament.


"Wow so cool!" He ran up closer "What are the microwaves for? What does the symbol on the ground mean? What's with the pig blood? Who are you two? Do you need help?" He was running around the room, messing with things, as he slewed out the onslaught of questions.


(Sorry for the poor formatting, I'm on my phone ATM!)

 

[ZaiKai]

Demon King Lucius Virgil Rugia


@Defective Kitten , @Gabauchi





Lucius frowns at the new Earthling. There are too many people interfering with this... He heaves the microwave over his head, setting it on top of the other nine, completing his first stacks. Then again, perhaps I can use this child to my advantage... Lucius grins maliciously. "Greetings, Earthling! I am an 'alien.' Now help us move these microwaves into ten stacks of ten in a decagon around the symbols, or pay the price!" He draws a finger across his neck the way he'd seen Earthlings do - hoping he'll get the idea. He looks at Graysen, his facial expression expecting her to play along.

 

[DestinyRed]

Alayna tested out the various -expensive- point shoes the dance store had to offer. Of course they didn't have her favourite brand in stock at the moment and she wasn't willing to wait it out. So, as she tried on countless different styles of capezio shoes she window browsed the shops on the opposite side of the store. She saw the costume store and Assumed everyone was there.


After a while the teen found a pair she was fond of, and trotted over to the costume store. Of course everything was overpriced and completely unoriginal, she loved it all the same.


She noticed something in the far corner, which was black and- Alayna came to a complete stop when she realized she was admiring a swan lake ballet costume. Gawking, she ran over to inspect it learning it was an Odile costume. She bounced on her toes and practically dragged the mannikin to the cashier, "I'll take it!" She squealed, of course the cashier thought she was crazy.... but happily took her credit card.

 

[housekat]

Izaria nervously pawed through the bags and discover that they weren't blood vials or any body parts, but costumes. She started looking through more confidently through the racks and found one that said 'demon'. Taking it off the rack and looking at the costume, she gasps and points to show the group in shock. "What is this? This is offensive to demons everywhere! I've never seen a demon in this little clothing! Well, maybe Vestis on the East side, but there are many, many glamours involved to cover up all the-" Cutting off her current train of thought, she continued her rant from before. "My question is where and how this image of a demon came about." Slamming the costume back onto the rack, she went to go search for something with more fabric.


Izaria pulls at the extra fabric on her costume that hangs loose around her small frame and sighs. She would have to go into the child sizes. How humiliating! She puts her uniform on and sneaks out to grab the child size without anybody noticing. The small, now human, war demon grabs the child size and sneaks back into the changing room. Sadly, it fit perfectly. Walking out of the changing room with a fresh look of depression and disappointment on her face, she grips the bag with her hand "coincidentally" over the size.

 

[Nikolajsen]

That car ride... Let us not speak of the events that led up to it ever again.


After climbing out of the van and thanking Mrs. Bellerose profusely, Theo strolled behind the group with his hands shoved into his pockets. "Aah, time to swipe the card," Theo mumbled to himself as he followed a few feet behind the main group who began to split up and go buy their costumes. Seeing as he had to pay for whatever costume Lorelei choose (He is a man of his word.), Theo rolled his shoulders back, expecting that they were going to be in the mall for a long time. "Go wild, ladies," Theo grinned cheekily in order to mask the fear he felt within. "I'll be buying your costumes, it seems."


Not wanting to laugh and make Izaria feel bad when she had to choose from the children's section, Theo smacked his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound. Holding out the shopping basket he had gotten from the front of the store, Theo gestured for Izaria to throw it in. Soon his self control would be tested. It is difficult for one to not laugh at the label "kid sized", especially for a demon-alien. "Go ahead and throw 'em in there, Izaria." Biting his lower lip to keep him from bursting into laughter, Theo coughed multiple times into his elbow, hoping his laugh would go away.


@Rida @Sen Pai @DestinyRed @verifiedkat


Potential Time Skip to Halloween Dance?

(Feel free to use this makeshift time skip post that I wrote during 48 hours of caffeine.)


An hour or so later, the characters all returned to their respectful homes just before midnight (after buying Izaria ice cream, of course.) and it wasn't long until the sun rose again. Class was smooth sailing, like the calm before the storm. It wasn't until after school did the chaos resume. A dance committee member almost broke the microwave contraption while Theo was trying to sneak it into the gym along with his accomplices. But everything was going according to plan and soon the time and space continuum will rip, opening a magic portal.


The sun set into the mountain ranges and the gym doors unlocked, opening the school to the Fortuna students who were all dressed up in their costumes. Luminescent lights danced around the floor, highlighting the students who were dancing, partying, and simply sitting. So far, no one had spiked the punch but give it awhile and it could happen. It was all fun and games until the president took the microphone from the band that was playing and said, "And the winner for the Skeleton Beauty contest is...nobody."

 

[ZaiKai]

Demon King Lucius Virgil Rugia


Lucius stands at the edge of the gymnasium, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his mouth in a small scowl. His eyes watch the people dancing - the friends, the loners, the couples... Scratch that. He skillfully avoids looking at the couples dancing together. Eventually, he just goes to looking down at the floor, tracing the lines in the wood with his eyes. I'll give those children a bit to enjoy themselves, I suppose... Oh, am I going soft, suddenly? No ... I'm not. But I remember ... I remember her and the fun times... Lucius shakes his head, refusing to let his thoughts lead in that direction. He almost smiles at the announcer's humor. Almost.

 

[DestinyRed]

Alayna walked into the gym, a black mask with gold embroidary blocking half her vision and her pointe shoes laced on her feet. She felt amazing. Most of the time she dreaded dances -cause dancers totally hate dances- simply because if you didn't have a date you were automatically classified as as "loner." But now, she was happy. Perfect costume to wear and the coolest friends to hang out with the only downfall was the boys. Seeing as she was the resident dancer guys always got her to dance with them so they looked good infront of other girls which annoyed her to no end. Just because she was a good dancer, doesn't mean they were.


After a thorough search of the area she frowned. The only person she could see was Lucius who was lounging against a wall inspecting the crowd. I thought he wasn't coming to the dance. Since she was bored she decided to wander over to him, "Hey Lucius, how is the demon dork enjoying the dance?"

 

[housekat]

Izaria adjusts her costume before stepping into the gymnasium and analyzes the room. It was full of humans dancing to pounding music and harsh lights. Edging her way along the wall to avoid the mass of bodies in the center of the room, she made her way to the refreshments table and grabbed a cookie. Munching on the cookie, she watched the humans. How could they like being in such a small place? You were so vulnerable with people on all sides of you. Someone could pull a knife or any weapon. But, there was something alluring about loosing yourself in the pulsing and ever morphing group of people. She finished the cookie and walked over to where Alanya and Lucius were standing to join their conversation.

 

[Lithia]

Ellowyn Autumnleaf


Elle walked into the gym, her eyes searching for Takao, she had gotten ready alone and expected to find him and the rest of their group there. Her gown was beautiful and very Fae like, the fabric flowers were sparkling in the gym's lighting and it showed of her elegant form while not being too revealing (like some of the costumes she saw people wearing.) Elle had put body shimmer on her cheeks and arms so that when the light caught her, she almost seemed to glow, it was the best she could come by in this world, it's not like they had will-o'-the-wisps to float around and give everything an ethereal glow. Her long auburn hair was hanging in loose waves down her back with fresh flowers pinned throughout and on her back she wore a shimmering pair of wings. Back home most of the Fae didn't actually have wings (except for those annoying pixies and a few other tiny creatures) but she wore them for the benefit of the humans, so they would understand her costume.


Elle spotted Lucius, Izaria, and Alayna over by the wall, no one else seemed to be there yet so she wandered over to them. A few people stared at her as she glided past, and Elle hoped it was a good kind of stare that meant she had done a good job with her costume. "Have you guys seen Takao?" Elle asked them a little nervously. "Great costumes by the way," she smiled. Elle hadn't seen the costumes they had chosen the other day because she had been with Esther getting her gown.

Spoiler

 

[KroNicc115]

Takao Kieran: Hero of Sofya


@The Dragon Rider , @DestinyRed , @Rida , @Nikolajsen, @Defective Kitten, @ZaiKai


Takao sat outside of the gym and decided to wait for Elle to get here before he went inside. None of his companions were here yet and mostly inside were other humans, lucius and Izaria..not really anyone he wanted to talk to. Takao had on armor in which resembled that of his knightly armor from Sofya. Sure it may be so much lighter than his actual armor, but it still felt great to be back in his usual garb. "Tonight's also the night..the night we return to Sofya. Time to go back to a life of fighting..traveling..all of the stressful things. Do I really want to go back..?" If he didn't, the demon king would put Sofya in ruin..


(I posted this earlier but my phone was just like, nope, not gonna)

 

[Gabauchi]

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"Greetings, Earthling! I am an 'alien.' Now help us move these microwaves into ten stacks of ten in a decagon around the symbols, or pay the price!"



Being the measly 4'9" he was, getting the microwaves into ten stacks of ten was quite possibly the most intense physical event of his entire life. However, he managed it, not with strength caused by fear of death, but by the furious excitement of having actually met an alien. His heart was pounding furiously, and he was somehow remained silent the whole time, reserving his strength for the herculean-strength requiring microwaves. Once it was all over, he managed to find a way out surprisingly quickly. He then proceeded to bike home like a zombie, then go to bed.

(Time fast forwards itself)

​

Karl stayed after school again. This time, however, it was to see what the microwaves were for. He walked along the hallways, taking an obscene amount of time checking every door leading to stairs, not knowing which one he had gone through. After a long while of dilly dallying, he approached a set of double doors pounding out music. What's this? Is this the basement? No, the basement had one door. Is it a party? Was I invited? Is party? He opened the doors. Flashing lights and loud music poured out of the gym doors.

"Party!" He shouted above the din, running towards the group.

 

[ZaiKai]

Demon King Lucius Virgil Rugia


@verifiedkat , @DestinyRed , @Gabauchi


"Hey Lucius, how is the demon dork enjoying the dance?" is what Alayna said and what Lucius heard. He looks up at her, wondering where she came from and why she cares. The question sounds familiar ... he looks back down at the ground, the thought tugging at him until he remembers. He doesn't run from the memory this time - at this moment, he embraces the piece from his past. Lucius closes his eyes, remembering that night twenty years ago...


"Are you enjoying the ball, Lucy?" a voice asked. Lucius looked up, only to see the smiling face of his brother.


"Would you stop calling me that silly nickname, Arelon?" he asked, but his brother only shook his head. Sighing, Lucius answered his brother's inquiry. "I'm not having too much fun - Mother and Father will be angry with us for sneaking into the city, and I feel ... out of place. Besides, a ball is no fun without a maiden with which to dance..." Lucius tugged at his fancy white tunic absentmindedly. Arelon searched around, then pointed at a young woman.


"Look over there - why not ask her to dance?" Arelon suggested. "She seems nice enough - I believe I heard her name is Pali."


Lucius sighed, shaking his head. "I could not approach a woman so beautiful as she ... Rejection is imminent."


Arelon slapped his younger brother on the back, shoving him toward the young woman. "Go on, you little worm! Ask her, by the gods I'm not sure how you were knighted in the first place with how cowardly you are." Lucius grimaced as he slowly approached the young woman named Pali...


Lucius snaps back into reality, realizing he was just standing there with an awkward smile on his face. He clears his throat. "I'll be going down to the basement. You children do whatever, I'll spread the code phrase once I'm done." With that, he does a slight bow to Alayna and Izaria and opens the gymnasium door, strolling out past that awkward boy Karl and toward the basement.

 

[Rida]

[sorry for the huge post, loves]


Esther Bellerose


Esther breezed into the gym, taking in all that she and the dance committee had created. She'd spent months planning and organizing this dance, making sure it went without a hitch. In the end, every sleepless night spent calling and arranging and decorating paid off--the smile on everyone's faces made it all worth the while. Witches, warlocks, vampires, ghosts, and historical figures of all ages roamed the gymnasium, seemingly floating from place to place, courtesy of a smoke machine donated by the school board. A 10 foot hollow jack-o-lantern sat in the corner, housing a small photobooth and a Halloween-themed backdrop. The band they'd hired played around with spooky classics and some Top 40s, setting the perfect upbeat mood. A short boy ran into the room, darting past Esther and almost knocking her off her feet. He seemed to have no costume on, unless he was going for 'the oblivious student'. The playing card in her hat flew to the ground as he whizzed past, and Esther irritably picked it up, sticking it back into the ribbon of her Mad Hatter costume. She'd gotten white hair spray from a drug store and sprayed her hair white, simply for the heck of it; she was planning to dye her hair sooner of later, and trying a new hair color on Halloween seemed like a good idea.


Soon, the principal, who hadn't bothered with a costume apart from the large tricorne hat he'd thrown on, took the microphone from the band and cleared his throat to announce the winner of the costume contest. Esther loved this part of the Halloween dance--it really showcased the hard work certain people put into their costumes. "And the winner of the Skeleton Beauty contest is..." he began, opening the small envelope in his hand that enclosed the winner, "nobody." Principal Brown looked closer at the envelope, rubbing his eyes as if he'd misread the card, then glared over at the judges' table. The judges, a group of teachers who'd volunteered to chaperone the dance, looked just as confused as everyone else, a silence befalling the crowd as the four teachers argued in hushed tones.


Esther was downright furious--the dance she'd spent so much time on had gone south only half an hour in. She was about to march over to the judges table and scream at the teachers, a few of which she had classes with the next Monday.





How could you hand over an empty envelope? Is this sort of sick joke?





Anger filled her veins as Esther looked around. The students, who only five minutes ago had been smiling with joy, now held faces of confusion, anger, and sadness. A few faces turned to her, the chairwoman of the dance committee, probably blaming her for the unexpected dilemma. They'd all come here for a night of fun, but instead were given this.





What are the new kids going to think?





Esther suddenly remembered the group of transfers who had turned her life upside down, and began to search for them, hoping to explain this whole ordeal to them; if they were really from another world, she at least owed them an explanation about whatever was happening. In the corner of her eye, a familiar black ponytail quickly made its way towards the exit in the midst of the confusion. Curious, Esther silently followed him, just as Principal Brown stepped back onto the stage to announce the winner of the Skeleton Beauty Contest once again.


"We apologize for the inconvenience. A student had switched out the winner's envelope as some prank, replacing the winner's name with a pun." the principal said, chuckling lightly at the mention of the prankster's skeleton joke. Esther looked away from Lucius to ask someone what the joke was--things like these always went right over her head.


Oh! Skeleton! No body!


As the realization dawned upon her, Esther tried to find Lucius again, craning her neck around ghouls and fairies, but to no avail; The demon king was long gone.





"And the winner of the Skeleton Beauty Contest is...Ellowyn Autumnleaf!"

Spoiler

 

[Gabauchi]

Ha, no one. Karl thought to himself, missing the pun of the ordeal. But suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the alien exiting the room. He began to freak out internally. Does he plan to do something? There are a lot of people in this room. It could be really bad. He decided to stalk him. He began tip toeing out of the awkward room, awkwardly, unaware of his lack of grace and suspicious motion.