Gory Goods

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Leiah observed Tyrell with a slight look of surprise. She inspected his exhausted face closely and poked his eyebags, causing him to growl in disapproval.

"Can you stop looking at me?" He muttered, crossing his arms and facing the opposite direction with embarrassment. She giggled and covered her mouth quickly, wearing an apologetic look, "Sorry, but you look awful. Did you stay up all night?"

Hallow walked into the ballroom, marching towards the two and stopping to nudge Tyrell's head with his large hand, "We most certainly did, princess! Ever since you acted so cold towards me and went off to sleep, Tyrell was kind enough to invite me into his own bedroom. We had so much fun!" Tyrell wore a fake smile, nodding slowly and looking up at his companion, "Sure...yep."

He let out a small 'oof!' as Hallow nudged his head once more and focused his attention on Leiah. The woman pouted in jealousy, as she regretted not staying up and participating in what she thought was a fun party. "No fair. Hallow, tonight you and I will have a sleep over."

Tyrell was about to object, but the spirit cut him off, "Of course, it will be the best sleep over you have ever had." They both clapped their hands together, fantasizing about what kind of spooky party they would hold. Tyrell, on the other hand, didn't like the idea of any male staying in the princesses quarters overnight.

No. He did not like it one bit.

"Well then, I'm coming also." The guard nodded in satisfaction, causing the two to turn their heads in synchrony.

"If you want to-."

"You're just going to be checking up on me for my father. I am my own person and I don't need someone to be following me around. Please, Tyrell, just let me look out for myself this time." Leiah crossed her arms, a defiant look in her eyes as she walked up to Tyrell. He didn't know how to respond, but before he could think of an excuse, he caught sight of the large grin forming on Hallow's face. He knew what was coming next.

"Hahaha!" Hallow let out a loud, deep roar, causing the chandelier overhead to tremble. The guard felt even more self-conscious, and he covered his face with his hand, trying to shield the annoyed look growing on his face. "How does rejection feel, Tyrell? Oh, you. You were so certain she was going to agree. "

"That's not very funny." Tyrell grumbled through gritted teeth, while Leiah only sighed and walked towards Hallow. "It's decided," she stated with a triumphant look, "Tyrell will stand guard outside my room and make sure none of father's men are going to spy on me. Is that okay with you?" She focused her attention back to her guard who gave a quick nod. It was better than sleeping far away, not knowing what they were doing. At least this way he could hear every word that came out of Hallow's big mouth.

"Alright, alright. Enough of this. I want you both to start carving."

The Halloween King patted two round, bright orange pumpkins sitting on a table behind them. Leiah and Tyrell both walked over, picking up a pair of large knives as they listened to Hallow's quick instructions.

"Let me teach you the simple way to bring these plump fruits to life. First, you stick your knife into the top of the pumpkin's head. Then you carve around in a circular motion, removing its skull. After that, you just pull out its flesh and proceed to cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Look at me for inspiration, if you wish."

They both turned to examine Hallow's head, then proceeded to try and follow his instructions as best as they could. Tyrell accidentally stuck his knife a bit further down than he was supposed to. Hallow only scolded him for a few minutes, asking whether he had eyes or not. Leiah on the other hand, did a much better job, as she was much more eager to create something amazing than Tyrell was. Hallow watched her for a while, realizing she was having difficulties with the eyes now.

He bent down and scootched up close behind her, taking her hands in his and guiding her in the process. "Silly princess, don't you know you can make eyes the shape of triangles? Here, let me show you." Leiah felt the warm heat of Hallow's fiery head behind her skull, but that was not what sent her into a panic. He was so close, and seeing her small hands in his large claws sent her mind into a whirl. Just like the other night, her heart skipped a few beats. As Hallow's deep voice echoed into her ears, Leiah knew that there was something going on inside her that she wasn't yet aware of.

"And that is all. Do you understand what I told you, unlike your babysitter over here?" Leiah nodded vigorously, her body relaxing as soon as Hallow let go of her. Though she wanted to continue working, the blush on her cheeks was starting to grow and she was afraid that the two individuals would notice. Without a word, she dropped her knife and scurried towards the doors.Tyrell called out for her as she barged outside and ran down the hall.

She had no idea where she was going, but somehow she winded up in the kitchen. Leiah poked her head inside, making sure no one was inside as she walked into the newly decorated area. Though she loved the design, she didn't dwell on inspecting it too much. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and the young woman bounced on the counter with a stiff, troubled expression.

Why did she feels so strange when Hallow touched her? The only time her body reacted the way it did was when she had dreams of a handsome prince rescuing her from her prison. She would always wake up wishing that man was real...and in a way he did became real- just not the way she envisioned him.

Leiah always imagined her handsome prince charming would arrive one day- riding a white stallion that would take them both far away from her troubles. She never expected he'd actually take the form a mischievous spirit who came straight from the underworld.

The mere idea of comparing Hallow to the man of her dreams made Leiah blush very bright. She covered her face once more, squeezing her eyes shut in a vain attempt to somehow dissapear completely. It didn't work, of course, and the sound of someone entering the kitchen caused her to jump high.

It was none other than Catarina. The cat woman examined the princess with little surprise, and she bowed deeply with an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry I frightened you." Leiah shook her head, "No, it's fine! I actually was just about to leave."

"You dont have to leave just yet. I won't bite." Catarina wore a lovely smile as she strode over to a small cabinet. She opened it up and pulled out a plate with what appeared to be red cookies on top. Leiah watched the dish with a slight rumble of her stomach, eyeing the round delicacies with hunger. Catarina noticed and lifted it up towards the princesses' face, encouraging her to grab one.

"What flavor is it?" Leiah asked cautiously as she took one cookie and brought it under her nose. Catarina took one as well and began to munch on it heartedly, "They're cherry, though Hallow prefers that I say it's blood when I present it to everyone after dinner. Hmm, speaking of Hallow," Catarina hummed knowingly, "He's looking for you all over, dear. The way you ran off like that was quite strange."

Leiah felt her whole body warm up, and she stared at the baked good in her hand with wide eyes, "So you saw me?"

"Only from a distance. It looked like you wanted to be alone for a bit, so I told him you went outside."

Leiah took a bite of the cookie, enjoying the delicate taste as it dissolved in her mouth. She swallowed and nodded to herself, "Thank you." There was an akward silence between the two until Cat decided to break it. "If you dont mind me asking," she began, "You seem a bit troubled. Dont you like it here?"

"Yes I do, very much so!"

"Then you don't like the king? He may be a bit cruel at times, but deep inside he's quite manageable."

Leiah shook her head, not knowing how to respond to the woman's question, "I do-," she couldn't mutter the next word, because although Catarina wasn't thinking a certain way she was, the princess felt the woman would be able to pick off her true emotions from the way her voice wavered.

"I do like him, but just as a friend." Leiah mentally punched herself for adding in the last part. Catarina wasn't even asking if she liked Hallow that way. The woman's ears perked up, as she could sense the tense waves radiating from Leiah's stiff body. With a small chuckle, she took another bite of her cookie and looked up at the dark ceiling, "It's alright, dear. Hallow is charming."

Leiah swallowed nervously and shook her head, realizing that her attempt to hide her recently discovered feelings had failed completely, "O-Oh, no, don't take it the wrong way! It's just that no one has ever given me what I dreamed off, and..." Leiah could feel the warmth threatening to display itself on her cheeks, "He won't be here for long, besides I just really admire him."

Leiah couldn't believe that Catarina had pulled the truth out of her in such a short time. Afraid she would say more, she bounced off the counter and apologetically said that it was time for her to leave. Cat didn't try to stop her, "It was nice speaking with you, princess. Don't worry about what we spoke about, okay?"

Leiah gave a quick nod and rushed out of the door before she could become even more embarrassed. As silence filled the kitchen, Catarina glanced back at a half open window and walked over to it. She pressed her palms against the frame and pushed it, opening it even further.

Standing next to the open window, a tall figure with a pumpkin head leaned against the castle wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Catarina knew Hallow was listening to her and Leiah's conversation, but she didn't exactly plan on telling the woman.

"It looks like everything I predicted is becoming reality." Cat rested her head on her hand, inspecting the serious spirit with a strict face, "Now we can get this show started."

Hallow narrowed his eyes, strangely quiet as he turned away from the cat-like lady. "Get dinner ready," was all he said before disappearing around a corner and out of view.

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