A/N: Happy Halloween/MCR Reunion Day! 'Tis a very spooky day indeed. Anyway, hope you enjoy this latest chapter!
After the news of Venus' death, I didn't expect anything to change. But for the past two weeks, everything around the mansion ran like sluggish clockwork. There were the early risers and the ones who slept in past noon. Neither of which group normally did back at the camp. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. I'd rarely see anyone in between. But when I did, I grew accustomed to their slouched posture, forced smiles, and the small talk that reluctantly passed their lips.
But yesterday, something began to change. There was more laughter, more smiles. I thought that maybe, just maybe, things were taking a turn for the better.
But how much better could it get when someone was gone forever?
Us monsters lost a lot, except the last time I saw Venus was where we left her to die.
When I first felt the pain in my chest, I asked my friends. I finally got a straightforward answer from Operetta.
"Oh sweetie," she said, just as Honey laid her encrusted green hand on my shoulder, "It's your heart."
I remember gasping, ready to ask what was wrong until she said, "It feels that way when you're grieving."
I had looked to Honey's sympathetic smile at my side then turned to look into Operetta's reddened eyes when I asked,
"When does it stop?"
Not one of them had an answer.
When Robecca and Rochelle told me about the sprout that became of Venus, my chest burned. But after a few moments, my unshed tears dried and the ache lessened.
Life stood right in front of me.
Now, I spent another morning watching the sunrise with my feet laid out in front of me and my hands resting on the soft green grass. Venus' sprout lay before me and an empty watering tin was at my side.
At this point, I clung onto hope like a lifeline, but at the same time I felt alone with it.
I knew Venus best as the brave-faced and determined ghoul who would do anything for her cause. As different as she looked last time I saw her, at least that hadn't changed.
But everyone else had a different reaction to Venus' sprout. Some broke into grins seeing it and others who saw it and burst into tears. There were even some who refused to look at it.
I heard the back door slam shut behind me and I looked over my shoulder. Elissabat strode onto the grass with cautious yet deliberate steps in one of the most elaborate dresses I've seen; a black swath amidst the sunshine. She twirled her opened parasol. "How are we this morning, Frankie?"
I plastered on a smile. "Great."
The vampire glanced past me. "Oh, were you watering her?"
I held my tongue and let my smile broaden. "Yes."
Elissabat's purple head bobbed with rapid nods. "That's so sweet. Where is everyone this morning?"
I looked through the windows at the crowd of colorfully clad bodies making their way toward the kitchen. "Looks like they're getting breakfast."
Elissabat clapped her hands together. "Oh, I hope they enjoy the spread I laid out for them."
It took me a week to learn that laying out the food was all Elissabat contributed to breakfast and in fact, Romulus and Gigi were responsible for cooking.
I grabbed the watering tin and rose to my feet. "I'm going to head inside and join them." I skirted past her. I knew Elissabat had the best intentions—she even checked in on everyone the first couple days since Venus' funeral and only stopped when she finally got the hint. We knew she was trying too hard to appeal to us. She didn't need to for us to like her. Was she worried we wouldn't?
Elissabat didn't follow me inside, but I figured she would slither back in at some point. She never stayed out for long.
I left the watering tin by the door then made my way down the left wing just when Clawdeen hurried down the stairs, furiously scribbling into a sketchbook. She skidded to a halt when she nearly knocked into me.
"Whoa, sorry Frankie." Clawdeen snapped her sketchbook shut. "Guess I'm kinda hungry."
"You're telling me!" We looked up and saw Howleen scurry down from the top of the stairs. She hopped beside us. "I'm starving."
Clawdeen made a show of rolling her yellow eyes, then stopped and gestured at the front door. "Look, Clawd's right over there. Let's go."
I held my hand out before they walked away. "Are you going somewhere?"
"We're going on a hunt," Clawdeen beamed. "Clawd's all healed up and we haven't hunted together in ages."
A quick glimpse at the sisters' slim outfits and I noticed dressed in olive greens and browns.
"But isn't the forest dangerous?" I asked.
"The hellhound's nocturnal," Howleen chimed in. "Plus, Clawd knows its scent now so it should be easy to avoid. Come on," she griped and walked toward the front door.
"I swear," Clawdeen said under her breath, "if turning twenty next year doesn't stop her from acting like a teenager, I don't know what will."
"I heard that!" Howleen shouted, following Clawd out the door. "Almost couldn't over my growling stomach!"
Clawdeen jogged after her siblings and waved goodbye. "I'll see you later, Frankie."
I waved back. "Have fun!"
When I entered the kitchen, Abbey was standing beside the stove with Heath. She stopped mid-conversation, her hands over his.
Heath looked over his shoulder at me but didn't free his hands. "Hey, Frankie."
"Morning guys." I glanced at Abbey, then their hands.
Abbey shot Heath a stern look and released his hands. He took it as his cue to leave and he walked past me with a flash of a smile.
Abbey tucked stray white hairs behind her ear. "Goodmorning, Frankie."
"What was that all about?" I asked as I walked to breakfast spread on the island and grabbed a plate.
She looked toward the direction Heath left. "Lately, he is anxious..." Abbey shook her head. "But should be fine."
"Is it because of Venus?" I forked some scrambled eggs onto my plate. "I know they were close ever since—" I waved my fork, "—everything."
Abbey shook her head. "There is nothing for him to be doing. He is restless." She crossed her arms and looked to the floor. "Am bored, too. All us are."
I felt it, too. "Elissabat says we should wait until the right moment."
Abbey scoffed. "Been saying so since we arrive."
"But things are changing, aren't they?" I asked just as I filled my plate. "And you know we need more time after Venus."
"Nothing change. Valentine is out there. The Queen is out there. We supposed to stop her or no?" Abbey's voice lowered, "Venus is the one who wanted me here in first place."
I sighed. Abbey was right. Time stood still and we were frozen right there with it. Venus was dead and the Queen she tried so desperately to stop still reigned. This all began with her. So many lives wronged and so many other lives still in the dark about the world.
And we were stuck.
Nefera already knew of the rebels, and Clawdeen had found us through Venus. How long would our safety last?
"Queen cannot sit in castle doing nothing," Abbey said. "What is she to do now that she can no longer hide behind face of yours?"
I didn't have the answer. My fingers were clamped around a glass of orange juice. "Abbey, have you eaten?"
She nodded. "Am just wondering when things are going to be changing..." The Yeti ghoul sighed and put a chill hand on my shoulder. "Am sorry, Frankie. Ever since we come here, we finally not move and—" she laughed "—guess am not only one anxious. Will go check on Heath again." She patted my shoulder as she moved past me. "Be seeing you later, Frankie."
"Wait," I called, and she looked over her shoulder. "Remember that we're okay, Abbey. We're safe."
She paused before finally sending me a curt nod.
We were safe. As much as I wanted Abbey to remember, I needed to hear that, too.
I turned on my heel and into the dining room. The table was sparse, with a couple of ghouls on one end and some on the other. I took a seat beside Draculaura, who was invested in a conversation with Lagoona.
"...as much as I appreciated the offer, there's no way I'd go with him. And he knows that, but I love that he invited me anyway!"
"Is this about the hunt Clawdeen is doing?"
"Yes," Draculaura squeaked. "Clawd invited me but he knows how I am with things like that—hello, vegetarian—so at first I wondered why he would ever think like that so then I said..."
It took only seconds to tune her out. Normally, I would listen to Draculaura's ramblings, but it was just nice to see her happy. Not just happy but doing something that I was so familiar with. Right now, it was just my friend being herself and there was nothing in this world stopping her.
But then my ears caught another conversation a few seats away, "...I've never seen her so invested in her sketches. Could it be a new line?"
I briefly glanced over my shoulder and saw Jinafire and Skelita, their plates untouched.
Skelita replied to Jinafire's question. "It's possible, but Clawdeen worked on new ideas when I was with her at the palace and she didn't behave that way. She's usually so... gentle with her fashion sketches."
The moment Draculaura finished her sentence, I asked, "Have you noticed anything off about Clawdeen?"
Draculaura pursed her lips. "Well, no not really. Except," her voice dropped to a whisper, "I noticed she hasn't been sleeping in her room."
Lagoona leaned a little across the table. "Why's that?"
"Not sure. Just know she's been in Howleen's instead."
"Hold on, she never told you?" I asked.
Draculaura shook her head. "No, I just found out about it when I was sneaking back from Clawd's room. And it's not like I can expect everything to be like it was, right? We haven't seen each other in years. Oh!" She jumped in her seat. "There is one ghoul who may have an idea. Spectra, what do you think?" The vampire froze when she saw the empty seat beside her. She slowly turned back to face us. "Huh, wasn't she sitting next to me?"
Lagoona laughed. "She left about twenty minutes ago, mate."
"You don't need Spectra to guess how Clawdeen's feeling."
We all looked over to see Jinafire walk over to us, her gold and green tail swaying. She took the seat beside me. "Skelita and I have discussed this and think that she is clearly grieving over Venus by keeping herself busy."
"We all are," I said. "But if you're right about her not sleeping in her own room, Draculaura, then is she feeling better about it or… worse?"
"She was the one who found her," Lagoona said. "And remember Clawvenus? Who knows how she's taking it."
"She seemed fine when I just saw her," I said. But then I remembered that she was one of the few who hadn't seen Venus' sprout. Maybe she really was feeling worse than what she was letting on. "But if you ghouls are right, how can we help her?"
"I know just the thing!" Draculaura chirped. "Creepover!"
Lagoona let out a huff and twirled a loose lock of blonde hair. "Every day's a creepover here, love."
"No, no, see, she doesn't know we know that she's not sleeping in her room," Draculaura said. "So, we invite her to one of our rooms for a creepover so she isn't suspicious. And we can all figure out what's going on for sure."
"I think it's a great idea," Jinafire said. "Until then, Skelita and I will keep her company once she returns." She rose from her seat. "Let us know what she says after the creepover. We wouldn't want to overwhelm her."
"Jin's right," Lagoona said. "Draculaura, Frankie, and I can host a creepover in my room. We can invite Cleo, too, like old times. Wouldn't suspect a thing."
-.-.-.-
That night, we got to work. We scrounged up a pack of cards, some popcorn, and even got Gigi to wish us up a six pack of our favorite sodas along with some oh-so-essential creepover face masks. To amplify the authenticity, Wydowna even let us borrow her laptop so we could stream a movie, even though there was an entertainment room a few doors down.
Lagoona, Draculaura, and I were dressed in blue, pink, and black nightgowns, respectfully. Each of our nightgowns was similar, as these were the ones available in our dressers, and although they were a stark contrast compared to our high school pajamas with their steep necklines and thin straps, it was almost as if we were someplace better.
We sat in a circle beside Lagoona's bed and placed all our creepover tools in the center. Lagoona had the luxury of an enormous floor to ceiling window spanning across the wall on either side of the bed. I looked through it and saw Venus' sprout standing tall as every star danced above it. At that moment, it felt like instead of walls, the sky surrounded us.
We just about leaped out of our skins when we heard a knock on the door.
Clawdeen slid it opened. "Hey, ghouls!" She paused at the door, and I noticed that she was gripping her sketchbook in her hand. Its spine was punctured with what looked like claw marks. The Wolf's eyes widened, and a grin spread across her face. "Wow, are you ghouls trying to make me cry?"
Clawdeen sat beside us, tucking her purple nightgown beneath her legs, and held up a can of soda. "You even got our favorite normie soda!"
"Uh-huh," Draculaura piped in. "And we're going to watch movies, and wear face masks, and have lots of fun. So, you won't be needing this." She snaked a hand across Clawdeen at her sketchbook, but Clawdeen's grip didn't waver.
"Uhm." She held it out of reach and grimaced. "Sorry, Draculaura, but you never know when inspiration will strike." Clawdeen stared at the floor and cleared her throat. She looked ready to change the subject when Draculaura spoke again.
"I just don't get it, Clawdeen," she said, crossing her arms. "We invited you here to fang out with us and this isn't drawing time, this is fun with ghoulfriends time!"
"Hang on, Draculaura," Lagoona coaxed. She raised a webbed hand in the vampire's direction. "Just because she brought her sketchbook doesn't mean she won't participate."
"Yeah," Clawdeen's voice staggered. "Like I said, I might get inspired."
Draculaura let out a huff and conceded. But the tension was still palpable. My heart sank. Despite knowing the plan was to make Clawdeen happy, all I could think of was how happy I was to see us together. I didn't realize just how happy it made me until we sat in awkward silence. But I knew we couldn't have the fun I wanted if we ignored this.
"Hey," I said, and the ghouls raised their eyes to me. "Clawdeen, we wanted to ask why you seem so focused on your sketches lately…"
Clawdeen stayed quiet, and her gaze returned to the floor.
Draculaura slowly turned to face her. "I've also noticed that you haven't been sleeping in your room."
At that, Clawdeen spoke up, "Okay ghouls… you want to know why I'm not sleeping in my room." She held out her sketchbook. "Here."
I gingerly took the sketchbook and cracked it open. The first few pages were just drawings of outfit designs, so I leafed through until the images changed. I gasped and Lagoona and Draculaura scrambled to look over my shoulders.
The page was notably more detailed than the haphazard sketches prior. It depicted a long, simple, and elegant gown with large, long sleeves entwined with spiraling thorns and what appeared to be leaves adorning it. What stood out most about the dress was its model. Most of the time, they were faceless with horns, pointed ears, a tail, or tentacles here and there. But this model held a regal stance and her steely expression was just as piercing as the real thing.
Venus looked more alive than ever.
"Crikey…" Lagoona's eyes watered. "She looks incredible."
"I know it seems like I'm down in the dumps," Clawdeen began, "and I'm still grieving, but being around my family helps me sleep instead of staying up and working on this."
"Is this a new design?" I asked.
"Maybe," Clawdeen smiled softly. "But it's really all that's been going through my mind. I'm nearly done with it and every time I draw, it feels better."
I handed her the sketchbook, and the Wolf gently ran a claw along the sketch.
"When Venus was imprisoned at the palace, she told me to find you guys. She wanted me to help. That's why," she took a shaky breath, "that's why I'm here. I want to take down the Queen, just like she wanted."
Draculaura scooted over to sit by Clawdeen. "I'm sorry, Clawdeen." She gave her a quick hug. "I was too harsh on you earlier."
Clawdeen laughed. "It's alright, Draculaura."
A couple of knocks sounded at the door, and Lagoona stood and answered it.
"Hey, ghouls!" Cleo drawled out.
Abbey stood beside her, a white pillow clutched to her chest. "I was promised pillow fight."
They joined us in the circle. And Cleo leaned forward, with her hands on her knees. "So, ghouls," Cleo said, a huge grin on her face. "Are we ready to have fun?"
And for a brief flicker of a moment, it felt like we really were someplace completely different.
Better.
Happier.
