On Earth, time seemed to be slowing down and speeding back up in odd intervals. The past week had zipped by and it was the start of the Halloween weekend; there would be celebrations all around, for the holiday itself was on the following Monday.
The gang had been invited to Chris Lourel's party. Most of their class had been, and it was going to be something huge. Chris lived in a big house out in the suburbs, not too far from the abandoned train station. He had been thrown into popularity because of his older brother Danny, who a few years before hi had earned status as the best party thrower in Heatherfield Institute, and it was common knowledge that the guy knew how to have a good time.
As Halloween was a major holiday, it was not going to be a missed opportunity for something significant. Unfortunately Queen Anna had a gut feeling that she had her own business to take care of instead of send her daughter to Earth parties. She insisted that she would spend some time carefully assessing the guards she let into her palace. The previous incidents of the attacks really hadn't only targeted Will. some guards on patrol in the village, who were quite loyal to the royal family, had been victims too. Nobody had been seriously hurt though, which was something, Anna thought.
The whole thing was ridiculous so Anna had decided to take care of the problem is she could. It meant though that Tia's presence would also be required - it was a good learning point for her training as queen. So no Earth parties for Tia this time around. The guardians had offered to come and observe too but the Queen had declines as she thought the guardians may alarm some of the men. There had been word of them through the village since they confronted the rioters, however not many had seen them in person.. It would be a show of power which Anna did not want to exercise; she respected her guards too much to threaten them with the guardians.
As soon as the Friday bell went, the girls all shot home to find their costumes. Ashely was to accompany her brother Patty trick or treating for a while so naturally she begged Natalia to come along with her. They both dressed simple in denim dungarees and yellow shirts, mimicking the famous yellow creatures by the name of Minions. Yellow was surprisingly in style at the moment, but the two girls would not outshine Patty's super cool ninja costume.
Somewhere on the other side of town, Cleo was adding the finishing touches to her Greek goddess costume. She loved mythology so it was kinda perfect. She wore a sheet wrapped over a pair of shorts and white t-shirt as to resemble a dress, and flat shoes which resembled sandals. Her hair sat untouched in a side braid topped off with a silvery headband. Thankfully it was a relatively warm October so it was no trouble.
Mei Lin almost had to go as a waitress at the Silver Dragon because her shift ended about a half hour before the party began. In a nick of time, she managed to find herself some beige three-quarter length pants and a darker shirt to match, she tied her hair in a bun and wrapped a white scarf around herself. Her neighbours were watching Star Wars really loudly so it inspired Mei Lin to be Rey for Halloween.
Kara was running late thought she had given some thought to her costume previously; she was going to be Harley Quinn. Half her hair was spray painted red, but she wore a similar outfit like Margot Robbie had in the Suicide Squad film. The reason for her delay was the map; it had triggered the Heart into acting crazy, floating about and shinning uncontrollably. No new portals had shown up, but something was definitely up so Kara shoved the map into her bag.
Will rang the bell at six on the dot.
Kara's brother Mike opened the door before Kara could reach it. The older boy looked at the visitor with slight amusement; Will's outfit was probably the most authentic thing he had ever seen. Will was a viking. He looked like he was ready to form a shield wall and fight some Saxons or something. He had gone as far as braiding his hair like a viking and hanging an axe off his belt.
"Kara! There's a pagan here to see you." Mike called out. Will balanced awkwardly on his heels for a second. "So you're going out with my sister?" Mike challenged. Will nearly lost his balance but stopped himself from falling.
"What? No, no way, we're just friends." he said. It sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than Mike, who raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, but I mean, I see you walking her home every day, and to school. I wouldn't mind it if you were," Mike lowered his voice in a deeply menacing way. "But I just want to make sure that you know if you hurt her, I'll break your-"
"Hey! We should go. Bye Mike!" Kara came to the rescue. She hadn't heard her brother's threatening comment to Will, but the sooner they left, the better. Will didn't need to be told twice to go.
"Sorry about him, he's...disturbed." Kara huffed as the two made their way to the Silver Dragon. They barely looked at each other until they were a good half kilometre away from the house. Kara let her eyes wander to his hair, to the fur resting on his shoulders, and his shield. It wasn't hard to work out he had borrowed some of it from Meridian though it fit perfectly with the concept.
"So why a viking?" Kara nudged him playfully.
"Why not?" Will shrugged.
"It's unconventional." Kara said.
"Well, I think it's better than trying to be a Prince Charming, y'know?"
"You're right," Kara paused. Will felt like she was going to say something heartfelt. "You don't have the sophistication for being a prince, besides, you smell like a viking anyway." she laughed. The usual sarcasm it was, then. Will ignored her razzing reply and laughed along, secretly a little hurt she didn't say something encouraging.
"I guess, but it's also because my father's side of the family, the Olsens, come from Denmark. My grandpa explained it to me; it goes way back."
"Explains your cheekbones and height." Kara muttered. Will sighed.
"Hey, I'm only six-two."
"Only?" Kara shot him a look. Will thought about it for a second.
"I see your point."
Will was suddenly lost, wandering around on a street in Copenhagen as snow fell around him. He was ten years old and his parents were still alive. It had been the first time he had flown on a plane, and it was the last family holiday he would ever have. The memory hit him like a train and he wanted to scream. He wanted to scream for the injustice the universe had served him, he wanted to scream so his parents could hear him wherever they were, and he wanted to scream so Kara could tell him to shut up.
"You okay?" she asked instead. He had been looking straight ahead, walking mechanically, and she was starting to worry. His eyes were unfocused and the street lights were reflected in the glassy blues of his irises. He snapped to attention.
"Yeah." they walked in silence the rest of the way. Kara was starting to wonder how they had become so comfortable with each other without noticing it the past few weeks; they had previously wanted to murder each other, but that was before they started talking. Now, well now she liked him so killing him was out of the question.
"Who's ready to partay?" Ashley hopped the last two steps of the basement in the Silver Dragon. She and Natalia were last to arrive at the rendez-vous point. They both looked hyped out from all the candy they ate, but also ready to go for even more sugary garbage just to top the night off in a new record for Halloween binge eating. Natalia was starting to regret agreeing to go for trick or treating, but alas, she popped another lollipop and between her lips. It was probably the last one she'll ever eat because she couldn't bear the thought of stuffing herself ever again.
"I was going to suggest we eat something before we go, but you guys look like you're full of sugar already." Mei Lin said. She was listening to the sounds of people upstairs in case anyone came down. It wouldn't matter today because they weren't doing anything guardian related, but it was still a force of habit.
"We should probably go if we want to be fashionably late or whatever." Cleo said. Ashley was first to bolt up the stairs; the redhead's excess energy was showing big time. The others trailed behind, Will going last, subconsciously trying to prove that he did in fact have some gentlemanly qualities contrary to Kara's beliefs.