AN: Okay, I've decided to write this one-shot purely because it's Halloween today and last year I wrote a House of GoT fic for it. You'll all be relieved to know this is not another one of those. Nope, this one-shot is set after The Named but before The Dark…
…Enjoy…
Disclaimer: I don't own GoT.
Isabel
We managed to convince Arkarian! I can't believe it! We actually managed to convince Arkarian to let us have a Halloween themed sleepover in his chambers! Ethan and I have got loads of scary movies and Arkarian's making sure there are enough snacks. Matt's still healing in Athens so I won't to worry about Matt striding in and demanding that I go home and I told my mum I was sleeping over at Ethan's for Halloween. Shaun's setting up an excuse for Ethan.
I get to Arkarian's chambers with my sleeping bag, clothes for tomorrow, pyjamas, movies and two bottles of lemonade as well as a bag of chocolate and sweets my mum gave me for the trick or treaters. Arkarian doesn't get trick or treaters, living in a mountain but my mum thinks I'm going to Ethan's so I could hardly say no. Oh well, all the more for us.
I just set my stuff on the table, leaving my clothes on the floor in the corridor, when someone grabs my shoulders.
"I vant to suck your bloooood!"
I turn, slapping Ethan playfully on the arm. "Tough," I tell him, watching him place his own stack of scary movies next to mine, which is feeble in comparison. "How many movies did you bring?"
He laughs. "Oh only my entire collection of scary films," he replies. "Seen Arkarian?"
I shake my head. "Just got here. You?"
He gestures to his movies. "Well no, I was later than you!" He laughs. "That's a first!"
I just grin. "Let's just check out the lounge!"
I let him lead me through to the lounge Arkarian set up with Ethan earlier. He covers my eyes with his hands as soon as we get to the door.
"Ethan!" I protest, aiming an elbow into his ribs. I miss; he's getting too good at dodging those now.
"It's a surprise," he insists, steering me into the room. "Now you can look."
As he hands slip away, I notice the sheer size of the room we're in. It's huge with a massive cinema style TV screen, but cosy at the same time. It's got some comfy looking sofas and squishy beanbags but the best bit has got to be the popcorn machine, which is full and ready to start making popcorn.
"Which type of popcorn do you prefer?" Ethan enquires, following my gaze.
I answer, "Sweet, but I like both. You?"
"Sweet," he states.
"So sweet it is," I decide. With that, I turn to leave. "I'm gonna go get our snacks and movies," I offer as an explanation.
Ethan follows but I ignore it. I'm perfectly capable of carrying a few movies but even I would struggle with that many movies and the snacks as well, though with the popcorn machine, I doubt I have to worry about is wanting all those snacks.
Eventually, we've got everything, including our sleeping bags and stuff for tomorrow, into the lounge and decide to watch The Ring, which is quite freaky – especially when she crawls out of the TV. (AN: I have a friend with really long dark brown hair who can brush hair to make herself look like the girl from The Ring, which is really quite freaky, but legendary.)
After a few minutes for Ethan to get us more popcorn and for me to get a knife to open the Pringles because I'm determined I don't need Ethan's help to open a tube of Pringles, we're ready to start the next movie.
"Your choice this time," I tell Ethan. "I chose The Ring."
"Okay," he replies, browsing through the heap of movies, which was once a load of piles but I got a bit carried away choosing the movie last time. "I choose…"
"Don't tell me," I command. "Just put it on. Let it be a surprise!"
He does but I now wish he didn't. He's chosen a movie about giant spiders killing everyone. I don't like spiders but I keep watching, determined not to show any fear to Ethan because whatever he can do I can do. Besides if he ever finds out I'm scared of spiders, I will never be allowed to live it down. Ever.
I force myself to watch the whole thing while Ethan just laps it all up, even laughing at some parts of it, though I will admit it's pretty funny watching an annoying, really thick girl run right into one of the giant spiders' legs but only before it eats her. She deserves it for being that stupid but it doesn't mean I want to watch how it slowly poisons and devours her. I have to suppress a shudder at that bit.
It takes three and a bit hours before it's finally over, then I just want to jump up and yell "YES!" but I don't. I do allow myself a quite sigh of relief as Ethan rolls up a bag of chocolate buttons, the noise of that drowning out the sound.
"So," he says. "You get to choose the next movie."
"You can choose in the morning, Isabel." Arkarian's voice makes me jump.
Ethan snickers. "Jumpy Isabel?"
I whack his arm, being careful not to get his stomach because with the amount of food he's managed to put away I would not like to be the one who ends up wearing it. Seriously, do all boys have bottomless pits as stomachs?
Arkarian smiles, the smile lighting up his soulful violets eyes. He has such amazing eyes. "Jumpy or not," he says softly, "go to sleep. I would hate for Halloween to affect your training tomorrow."
"It won't affect my training," Ethan replies cryptically.
"That may be so, but Isabel does not have your twelve years experience, Ethan. After six hundred years, I have come to realise that you can never be too well trained or have had too much practise."
Arkarian clicks his fingers to turn the TV off before using his wings to disappear in front of our eyes.
"I can't wait 'til I can do it that well," Ethan states, his previous cryptic comment forgotten. When he says things like that, I can tell he was trained by Arkarian. He sighs dreamily. "Right, I'm gonna go and change."
He takes his pyjamas and soap bag to find a bathroom. By the time I've set my sleeping bag out on one of the two mattresses that have just miraculously appeared, he's back. His dark blue pyjama bottoms with a loose white T-shirt are a good combination. They suit his brown hair and blue eyes very well.
"It's two doors on the left," he informs as I grab my own red shorts and white tank top combination with my soap bag.
It takes me a lot longer to clean my teeth and get changed than it did Ethan but I don't care; at least I know my teeth are actually clean. I join Ethan in the lounge. He's already in his sleeping bag. The only part of him that's visible is his face so he looks sort of like a big blue worm in his blue sleeping bag.
I laugh at him as I snuggle into my own green sleeping bag. I clash with it but I don't really care. It's an old sleeping bag I've had for years and it's still warm and comfy to sleep in.
"What?" he enquires.
"You look like a worm," I state bluntly.
He rolls onto his side. "G'night Isabel," he yawns.
"'Night Ethan," I reply, burying all thoughts of giant spiders as I make myself comfortable.
It doesn't take me long to get to sleep. Thankfully, I don't dream of anything because it would not have been great if I had a nightmare about giant spiders in Ethan's company, Again, I'd never live it down.
When I wake up, the room's still dark but that's what I'd expect considering Arkarian's chambers have no windows. What I don't expect is to roll over to see that where Ethan fell asleep there is now just a skull and a lot of blood complete with some green gloop eating into Arkarian's carpet.
The wall moves. A sock I recognise to be Ethan's falls by my head with a clump of blue hair. Whatever's happened, they've got Arkarian too.
I jump out of my sleeping bag.
That's when I realise the wall is not a wall.
It's a giant, hairy spider, fangs dripping blood and that acidic green gloop.
I almost scream but manage to control my fear; if I scream, it'll know where I am and get me. Death by spider is not on my wish list. I back away towards the door. If I can escape, I can find Shaun or Jimmy or Mr Carter and tell the Guard about this.
I keep back away from the spider as quietly as possible until something tackles me and pins me face down to the floor. I scream.
"I vant to suck your blooooood!"
"ETHAN I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
AN: Ah, another year, another prank from Ethan. It would be pretty cool to have Ethan's skills for Halloween; with telekinesis you could make things move on their own so people think they're haunted and making illusions, anything is possible!
I almost feel sorry for Isabel – almost being the key word there!
Anyway, if you've read this then thanks and remember: just 'cause this is a one-shot doesn't mean I'm not gonna look at the reviews. Any reviews and feedback makes my day and constructive criticism helps me improve my writing. I will try to reply to all reviews (if you're anonymous, I can't reply but I'd still love to hear from you).
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
P.S. And I've actually written and put this up on Halloween! Yeah! Woot!