Chapter 31
Walpurgis Night with a Princess
Walpurgis Night has come once again for the Town of Featherkeep. To those from Earth who don't know, Walpurgis Night is Emeron's version of Halloween. And like Halloween, it was a time of festivities when children dress up in colorful costumes and go around houses collecting sweet treats while adults partied the night away with feasts and dances out on the streets and every public square.
Festivals were always special times, but this festival was going to be just a little bit more special than usual.
It all started when the sun was about to set. This Walpurgis Night, Peggy was going out wearing a high collar black cape she borrowed from Mrs. Arkans and a tattered, pointed hat she bought from a secondhand shop for cheap. George was dressed in sparkly green robes while carrying around a long, wood stick curled into a ball at the top. These were going to be the costumes they wear for a party taking place at Paladia School. They had been invited by some students Peggy befriended when she visited the school on a delivery.
"Thanks again for bringing me along to that party at Paladia you were invited to, Peggy" George said. "But are you sure it's okay?"
"Sure, I'm sure," Peggy said.
The invitation had originally been meant for Peggy alone, but when she heard that all of George's friends had their own plans, she asked if George could come too. The kids from Paladia were more than happy to include him in the invite.
As to be expected on the night of a big festival, the streets were packed with people. Everywhere was bright despite the black night sky and covered in pumpkin decorations.
"Hey, George!" Peggy called out. "Wait up!"
Impatient to get to the party soon, George ran down the road ahead of Peggy.
He turned around and called back, "Come on, Peggy! Hurry up!"
Meanwhile, further ahead, a young girl who was half golden fur puppy dog, was running up the road, panting from being out of breath. She had emerged from a flash of light in an alley, dressed in a fancy white dress and a gold tiara on her head. Anyone who saw her would think that she was late to a meeting or in a hurry to get to a party. But in fact, she was being chased.
"Why me?" she wondered as she continued running with all her might, weaving around costumed folks and merrymakers. "What did I do to deserve this?"
She conveniently forgot the fact she had been playing in a storage room her parents explicitly told her she was not allowed in and accidentally knocked over a black clay pot with the words "DANGER" stamped on it. The pot, obviously, shattered to a dozen pieces on the floor. And then the next thing the weredog puppy girl knew, she was being chased all around the castle by what many would call and evil spirit until she made her way into the treasure vault and used a magic item, a huge bronze disc on the floor, to teleport out of the castle to some faraway random place in another kingdom.
But even that wasn't enough to shake the evil spirit off her tail, figuratively.
"Oh, Priiiinceeeeeeesssss."
A shiver ran down the beast folk girl's spine as a creepy, drawn out voice reached her fluffy ears.
She looked over her shoulder and could see a tattered black cloak flying towards her. None of the locals below noticed the cloak, nor did they hear the voice that from it. If they had, they probably wouldn't still be laughing, dancing or prancing about.
Figures, the weredog girl thought bitterly. Only I can see or hear it.
Which meant that even if she called for help, it would be no use.
So all she could do was keep running and running, and running while enduring the irony of living a ghost story during a festival that's all about ghosts and other spooky things.
But while distracted by what's behind her, the dog folk girl did not see the lion folk boy in the wizard outfit until it was too late.
"Oof!"
"Gah!"
The girl ran into the boy and both collapsed onto the ground.
A grownup human lady who looked like she was in her late teens, early twenties, rushed over and cried out, "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah," said the lion folk boy as he picked himself up. "How about you? Are you okay?"
The weredog girl didn't answer and frantically looked behind her.
George and Peggy exchanged puzzled looks. The weredog girl who bumped into George seemed really frazzled, but they didn't see anything out of the ordinary while looking past the girl's tiara.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Peggy asked out of concern.
"Um . . ." went the weredog girl in the princess costume. She stared at Peggy and George, at a loss for words, but then looked back over her shoulder again before jumping to her feet.
"S-sorry!" she cried out. And then she ran off.
"Hey! Wait!" George cried out. But it was too late. The girl had disappeared into the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Peggy wondered.
George shook his head and replied, "I don't know."
He happened to look down and spotted something oval-shaped and shining gold on the ground, which he picked up.
"Hey, look!" he cried out. "It's a locket! It's that girl's!"
He had pushed a button and the lid popped open to reveal a family of fancily dressed dogs.
"It must have broken off its chain when you guys bumped into each other," Peggy said as she bent down to get a better look. "Looks really expensive too."
"It's probably really important to her, then," said George. He closed the locket shut and gripped it firmly in his hand. "I better go give it back to her!"
"Huh? Hey! George!"
Before Peggy could stop him, George took off running where the weredog girl had gone.
Peggy let out an exasperated breath as she watched him vanish down the road before running after the animal kids herself. It took everything she had to not lose them in the crowd, barely picking out George's robes from among a sea of colorful costumes.
But after a while, the crowds started to let up, quickly becoming just a trickle of people before the roads became completely deserted altogether, except for Peggy, George and the weredog folk princess. Thanks to the lack of people, George's voice finally reached the dog folk princess' ears and she stopped.
"Hey, wait!" George had called out. "You dropped this!"
The dog folk princess stopped in her tracks and turned around, surprised to see George running up to her. He stopped just a few feet from her and bent down, out of breath. Peggy stopped short just behind him. She was even more out of breath than the kids.
"Hey!" George gasped, holding up the locket. "You dropped this!"
The dog folk princess' eyes widened with further surprise and she cried out, "My locket! How?"
"It happened when we bumped into each other," George breathlessly explained.
Hesitantly, the dog folk girl took back the locket.
"Thank you," she said.
George grinned and replied, "You're welcome. By the way, where'd all the people go?"
"I don't know," Peggy slowly answered.
As she looked around the deserted street, she got a serious case of Deja Vu.
George looked around as well.
"That's weird," he said. "There are all these pumpkin, bat and wizard decorations everywhere so I don't think we're very far from the festival. But I don't even hear anything. It's all dead silent."
Peggy's sense of Deja Vu got stronger.
No matter how you look at it, this is unnatural, the dog folk princess thought. It'd be one thing if the street had been neglected, but a glitzed out place like this would normally be full of life.
She gasped. Could it be that evil spirit's doing? If that's the case, then they were all in trouble and it was her fault these kind people got mixed up in it!
"Are you okay?" Peggy asked, sensing something amiss with the weredog princess. "You don't look so good."
The dog folk princess rapidly replied back in a rather high voice, "I'm fine. Just fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"
So she said, but in her head, she despaired, I can't say it! I can't tell them that we're all in danger because of me!
Meanwhile, Peggy quietly thought, You certainly don't sound fine.
But she kept that to herself and instead chose to focus on more pressing matters.
"We shouldn't stick around for very long," she said. "Why don't you come with us?"
"Huh?" went the weredog princess. "You mean me?"
Peggy nodded. "Quiet places like this can be really dangerous for kids like you on their own. It's better if we all stick together."
It'll be even more dangerous for you two to stick with me, the dog folk princess thought bitterly.
But she decided to go along with the others, regardless. She doubted they would believe her if she told the truth. Worse, they'd probably think she was crazy.
The best I can do now is watch out for them, she thought. I have to take responsibility for this.
But the moment she made her resolve, that same resolve went shattered to pieces with a whisper in her ear.
"Priinceeessss."
"Eek!"
The weredog princess jumped and turned. But there was nothing behind her except a smiling Jack-o-Lantern resting on a crate.
Peggy and George gave the princess funny looks.
"Are you really okay?" asked Peggy.
"Yes! Really!" the princess answered shrilly. "Come on! Let's go!"
She had no destination in mind when she started pushing Peggy and George down the road. But she figured anyplace would be better than here. However, they didn't even go one foot when the lights suddenly snuffed out all at once. No glow from the lampposts. No shine from the shop windows. No flickering candlelight from the Jack-o-Lanterns. No nothing except for the light of the full moon.
The moonlight was more than enough to keep things visible, but it cast lots of big shadows which just made the street creepier.
Startled by the abrupt lack of light, the princess shrieked again, "Eek!"
"Geez, that scared me!" Peggy blurted. "You kids okay?"
"I-I'm okay!" said George, sounding kind of shaky.
That got Peggy worried, but then she realized the weredog girl was clinging to the werelion boy's arm.
George scowled when he noticed Peggy's big smirk.
Hiding in an alley not too far away, a floating black cloak observed the group with a feeling of glee. This was the evil spirit on a mission to torment the poor princess and it was enjoying the fear it inflicted on her.
"Yes, yes," it muttered. "Shiver in fright. Tremble in terror! Lose all hope! For no matter how far you run or where you go, I will always find you! I will catch you! I AM YOUR DOOM!"
The dog folk girl was the evil spirit's main target, but it welcomed the unexpected addition of the lion folk boy and the human folk lady. As they say, the more the merrier. It could not wait to hear their screams of horror and cries of agony.
But first, let's have them tire themselves out, it thought. Seeing them slowly grow frustrated and panic will be entertaining to watch.
The evil spirit suddenly had its train of thought broken when it felt something tap it on the shoulder.
"Huh?"
Meanwhile . . .
Unaware of the evil spirit's presence, Peggy and George began to try and find their way back to familiar territory with the weredog princess in tow. But that would be easier said than done.
No matter how far the gang walked, no matter what direction they turned, the streets remained empty and dark. Worse still, they all looked identical to the last, right down to the Jack-o-Lantern resting on the crate in front of the second building, as if they were trapped in a cheaply made cartoon with an endlessly looping background.
As they walked, Peggy had this really odd feeling that something like this had happened before. But it was maybe daytime back then, and there was . . . a sunflower?
"Ow! My head!"
George and the weredog girl stopped.
"You okay, Peggy?" George asked.
Peggy replied while massaging the side of her head, "Yeah. My head just started hurting all of a sudden."
It was as if someone had taken a mallet and swung it against the side of her cranium.
"It must be all that studying you've been doing," George said. "I always knew studying was bad for you."
Peggy gave George a funny look and then fired back, "That time you nearly got grounded from going to the festival because of bad Fall Exam grades begs to differ."
And then she frowned.
What was I trying to remember again? she wondered.
Whatever it was, it had been completely wiped from her mind.
Oh well, she thought. I got more important things to worry about anyway.
She looked down on her wristwatch.
There was still some time before the party at Paladia starts, but lost as they are, they'll never make it.
"If only we could find our way out of this place," she muttered. "But just which way do we go?"
She glanced over at the kids, but she could tell by their faces that they had no idea either. The weredog girl was particularly glum, though Peggy and George had no idea it was more from guilt than anything else.
It seemed like their situation was hopeless. But just when the gang was going to throw in the towel, a voice cut through their despair to show them the way.
"Over here! This way!"
The gang all turned their heads and spotted a little boy with green skin and bat wing-shaped ears waving to them.
"What are you doing here?" Peggy cried out in surprise.
"You know that goblin, Peggy?" George asked.
Flustered, Peggy sputtered, "Huh? Uh, well . . . Y-yeah. We met a while back."
It was last Halloween - er, Walpurgis Night that she encountered the boy. Back then, the boy had been lost in town and she helped bring him home. That was all that she remembered, but she felt like there was something else, something really, really important.
The weredog girl asked, "So does that mean he's a friend?"
Peggy glanced back at the boy still calling out and waving frantically at them. And then she replied, "Yeah, he's a friend."
Yeah, that was right. Regardless of whatever it was that she was forgetting, Peggy was certain of one thing: that the boy was her friend.
"Come on!"
She took George and the weredog girl's hands into her own and pulled them along as she ran towards the boy.
"Happy Walpurgis Night, Peggy!" the boy greeted with a grin.
Peggy grinned back and said, "Happy Walpurgis Night."
And then the boy pointed down a road that mid-way through was shrouded in darkness.
"The way out is this way," he said. "Follow me!"
George and the weredog princess looked at the darkness ahead doubtfully. But Peggy tugged at their hands, gave them reassuring smiles and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
She didn't understand what was really going on right now, but she had faith that everything would be alright now that her friend was with them.
With George and the weredog princess huddled against Peggy, the gang followed the goblin boy into the darkness ahead. No sooner did they step foot into it, everything around them went black. Peggy couldn't see them, but she could feel George and the weredog princess squeeze her hands harder. She squeezed their hands back as they dove deeper into the darkness.
There was just one thing visible in all that darkness, and that was the goblin boy who looked like he was covered in white mist. He kept himself a couple of feet ahead of the others, stopping now and then to make sure they were still following him. Their footsteps echoed as if they were walking in a long, cavernous tunnel.
Admittedly, Peggy was worried about how far they would have to go in this darkness. But that worry was allayed when a few minutes later -
"Look!" the weredog princess cried out. "I see a light ahead!"
"Come on!" said George. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The two beast folk kids took off running. And Peggy ran after them, shouting, "Hey! Wait up!"
She wondered why kids liked to run off ahead all the time.
As soon as they dove into the white light, they emerged into a lively and crowded street colored orange by all the pumpkin and pumpkin-shaped decorations.
"Sweet!" went George. "Civilization at last!"
The weredog girl giggled and said, "You make it sound like we were stuck on a desert island or something."
"It certainly felt that way for a while there," Peggy said. "Anyway, thanks! You've been a big help, - !"
She had turned around to thank the young boy but froze when she saw that the only thing behind her was a brick wall.
"Huh?"
And then, from the wall, came a young boy's echoey voice that said, "You're welcome, Peggy! Happy Walpurgis Night!"
While staring at the wall, Peggy opened her mouth and then closed it shut. It was at that moment she had remembered that important thing she had trouble recalling earlier:
That young boy who had helped them was no longer a part of the living world.
Unbeknownst to anyone, high up above on the edge of a rooftop sat a woman in a black gown fashioned from what Peggy would call Ancient Chinese style. Much like a certain coffee shop Owner that Peggy called Boss and George called Dad, the lady was a vampire with pale blue skin, triangle-point ears and eyes glowing red in the dark.
As for what she was doing at such a dangerous spot, she was watching Peggy and the two werebeast kids headed over to Paladia School for a party. The vampire lady planned to have the town guards help the weredog princess go home.
"But before that, it won't hurt to let her have some fun," the vampire lady said. "After all, it's Walpurgis Night. Don't you agree?"
She asked the thing chained down on the flat of the roof. The thing which looked like a tattered black cloak was desperately trying to pull itself free, but failed miserably. Most people would call that black cloak thing an evil spirit, but to the vampire lady in the black gown, it was a pest no greater than a single ant.
And an ant that needed to be taught a lesson.
From the lady's back, giant bat wings sprouted and she gracefully floated off the rooftop. In her hand was the chain that bound the evil spirit.
"Come now," the vampire lady said to the evil spirit as she lifted it up with her. "The night is still young, so let us go have our own fun."
And then she took off towards the night sky, all the while laughing rather wickedly.
The evil spirit had no idea where she was taking it. All it knew was that it was in for an unforgettable night, unforgettable in a bad, bad way.
**********
A few days later in the afternoon, the coffee shop Owner was using his downtime to wipe down the bar counter when in walked George's school teacher.
"Hey, welcome!" said the coffee shop Owner. "What can I do for you today?"
"Oh, nothing much," his son's teacher replied, his voice shaking a little as he smiled crookedly. "I just have a question I wanted to ask you."
Noticing the teacher's frazzled look, the coffee shop Owner thought to himself, Uh-oh.
"Do you mind telling me why the school got a call from the king of another nation?"
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