"Ethel. Hi. Are you eating alone? Do you mind if we…" Abby walks into the science lab with Jughead and Betty. Ethel was eating lunch there.
"The doctors put me on medication. To stop the seizures. I was having them multiple times a day. It's very strong." Ethel cut her off.
"Look, if we did something to trigger your seizures, we're sorry. We were just trying to help." Jughead apologizes.
Ethel rolled her eyes. "Like you were trying to help my boyfriend Ben when he threw himself out a window?"
It was a moment of silence in the memory of the young man who killed himself. Betty sat down at the table across from her. "Ethel... when you collapsed, did you have any visions?"
"I honestly don't remember." She didn't remember anything that happened after the seizures.
"Okay. Well, how long have you been friends with Evelyn Evernever?" Betty asks.
"Evelyn's the best. She visited me in the hospital and is helping me get better so I can titrate down my meds." She smiled at the thought of her new friend.
"Ethel, you shouldn't do that with someone who isn't a doctor. How would a high schooler know how to do any of that?" Abby was concerned. To slow down or go off your medication without the supervision of a professional sounded suicidal.
"I agree. Was that her idea or her dad's?" Betty asks. "Wait. Have you met Mr. Evernever?"
Ethel laughed at Betty like she was a questioning child. "If you're so curious, Betty, you should check out Evelyn's peer support group. Principal Weatherbee gave her permission to start a student chapter of the Farm here at Riverdale High."
The bell rang, letting them know their time was almost up. "Ethel... Before Ben…" Jughead took a deep breath before going on. "He'd mentioned reuniting with Dilton in the Kingdom? You know what that means?"
When she didn't answer, Abby pressured her. "Two people that you were close to, died playing Gryphons and Gargoyles."
"G&G." She corrected. They weren't allowed to say the whole name in public.
"Look, I just want to understand what's going on, since my name is tangled with this." She gave her the honest answer of why she was here.
"The only way to understand is to play. I'm sorry, Abby but you're not a playable character." Ethel looks down at Abby's feet, not wanting to meet the disappointing eyes of The Goddess.
"What about us? Can we be playable characters, Princess Etheline?" Jughead asked about him and his girlfriend.
"Don't call me that. You haven't earned that privilege, and you're definitely not worthy of the King's scripture yet." She snapped with authority in her voice.
"Yes, but I wanna be. I wanna be worthy, Ethel. Could you please show me how?" He pouts.
Of course, because a good-looking guy was talking to her she caved. "Meet me tomorrow night at Dilton's bunker. But just you and Abby. Her supervising the game can level you up faster. Sorry, Betty, but you'll never be worthy, no matter how hard you try." She gave Betty a look that clearly showed she wasn't sorry at all. In fact, she looked to be taking pleasure from it.
"Are you sure you want to go to the opening of the speakeasy?" Sweet Pea was tugging at the collar of the dress shirt. Abby was sitting in front of the dressing room. She was playing with the fancy invitation that Cheryl gave her from Veronica.
Fangs came out of the dressing room wearing a black-on-black suit. Their suits were identical with the difference being small details like buttons and cufflinks. "Yeah, I want to go. I'm looking sharp." He spun around to give them the full view.
"I wasn't talking to you." He scoffs.
"Oh, right. We don't have to go, Abby." He turns to his other best friend.
"No, we should go." She insisted. "With everything else going on, it'll be good to go out somewhere and not have to think about it."
"Getting drunk might help, but we can do that anywhere." Sweet Pea felts suffocated in the tie.
"I didn't say that. Besides, it would be a shame not to show off my two handsome guys." She smiled.
"Thank you." Fangs bows while Sweets whines.
"Come on, you guys need a break from sneaking around the Southside. It's so stressful when you guys are gone." She grabbed his hand. "I want one night where we can be normal teens going to a party."
"Alright, but something tells me this party isn't going to make us feel normal." He put air quotes around normal.
Jughead and Abby went down into the bunker to see the hallway was lit with candles. Jughead let out a huff at seeing how extra it was. "Ethel?" They went through the tunnel to get to the bunker.
"Welcome to your first game." Ethel was sitting at a table wearing a crown with a veil on it. Abby looked around the room. The walls and table were lined with more candles. She thought about how dangerous this was. If the bunker were set on fire, it would spread so fast that there was no way they would be able to make it out. "Your entry points to the realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles. The magical kingdom of Eldervair." She pointed to the seat across from her. Jughead took his bag off before taking the seat. She gestures to a chair on the right side of the table where Abby could sit and watch. She was able to get a closer look at the board. It looked like a generic version of Dungeons and Dragons. She didn't understand why not play that instead of this game that ends with killing yourself to be with the Goddess.
"First things first, do you want to be the Radiant Knight, Arcane Invoker, or Hellcaster?" She offers him the available pieces.
"Uh, Hellcaster." He chose the coolest name.
She picked up the piece to put it next to hers. "Good choice. That was Ben's avatar. I was supposed to ascend with him, but then he betrayed me and finished the game with Dilton instead." She was angry that they left her behind.
"Leaving you high and dry." Jughead tried to sound sympathetic but failed. Abby wondered if that meant that Ethel's character had a new boyfriend.
"Doesn't matter. Pick a Quest Card and let's get started." She nodded to the pile of cards next to the board.
The game went on, it was entertaining and innocent so far. "Okay. You've crossed the old footbridge to find two doors. One is made of shimmering gold, the other is just plain ol' maple wood. Which door do you pick?" Ethel being the game master gave the next choice.
"Let's go with door number two." He easily saw through the trick.
"Well picked, Caster. You've entered a secret chamber. You're standing in the middle of a circle composed of gryphon bones. Two chalices sit before you." She left up the privacy folder to show the two cups.
"Ethel... no. No way." He shook his head.
"You wanted to prove your worthiness. In order to do so, you have to drink from one of the Sacred Goblets." She told him.
"What, like Ben and Dilton did? You're asking me to play Russian roulette!" Jughead looks at the cups in horror. He didn't think they would come up so soon.
"I'm asking you to play Gryphons and Gargoyles." She corrected.
"This is getting out of hand. You don't have to Jughead." Abby looks at the cups in the same manner. Was the body count higher than they knew if every game ended with this.
"Is there poison in these Fresh-Aids?" He asked.
"It's Gargoyle blood, Hellcaster, as you well know." She gave him a pointed look for breaking character. "Flip for your fate." She held out a coin.
"If I do this... promise to give me the scripture?" He took the coin from her.
"I promise. The Goddess as my witness." She nods to Abby.
He flipped the coin and slammed it on the table. "Gryphon." She hands him the cup with the animal on it. "Salute." He drank it.
"How do you feel?" Abby asked.
"Okay. I think." He assured her before turning to Ethel. "Hey, rule book. Come on."
She stood up to walk around the table. She held the book up in the air. "You have to kiss me first." She said, getting a noise of disgust from the others.
"Oh, my God." Abby gasped at how far Ethel was taking this.
"Ethel, are you serious?" Jughead was tired of being at her mercy.
"It's in the scripture. The Hellcaster kisses the Princess, or he doesn't get the treasure." She explained that it wasn't her doing.
"Fine." He stood up to give her a peck before taking the book from her hands. "Is this the only one?"
"That I'm aware of." She nods.
Abby looked over Jughead's shoulder while he flipped through it. They looked up when they heard loud gulping. Ethel was drinking the other chalice. "Ethel, what are you doing? Hey, put that down!" They grab it from her.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked.
"I'm not okay," Ethel whispers in the way that said even if she wasn't poisoned, she wasn't okay. "I'll call 911. We have to get her out of here before she passes out" She took out her phone as Jughead rushed her out of the bunker.
They were sitting next to Ethel's hospital bed. Jughead was reading the scripture. "Jughead. Abby. What happened?" She woke up.
"You're in the hospital. You ingested poison. But they got you the antidote in time, so you're gonna be okay." Jughead told her. She moved her hand to find that she was handcuffed to the bed. "It's the protocol for anyone on suicide watch?"
"But I didn't try to…" She denied.
"Yes, you did. Even game-wise, you did. It's not in here for the princess to drink." Abby hit the book in Jughead's hands.
"When your parents get here, you have to be honest with them. You have to tell them about this game." He advises.
"I can't. I'll never tell them. And neither will you, because if you do, then I'll say that you mixed the Fresh-Aid." She blackmailed.
"It's over. This game, whatever game you're playing, is over now, Ethel." Jughead stood up to stand over her bed. He wanted her to see how serious he was.
"No. It's only just beginning." She giggled.
"Yes, it is. Jughead, not going to play again. We'll make sure you can't recruit anyone else." She stood up to stand next to him.
"Everyone says that after their first game. But, you've proven yourself, Hellcaster. I told him. I told him that you're worthy enough to spread his gospel." She smiled sweetly, looking up at Jughead with dreamy eyes.
"Who?" He asked.
"Don't be dumb." She sighs, keeping the smile on her face. "The King, of course."
"The King isn't going to hurt anyone anymore. I'm going to make sure that this doesn't end up in anyone else's hands, okay?" He held up the book.
"Thank you, Hellcaster, for helping me finish my game." She grabbed his hand that was in her reach.
Abby stepped out of Hogeye's truck looking like a million bucks. She was wearing a red sleeveless velvet cocktail dress that had a high slit that went to the top of her thigh. She had on black gladiator heels. She curled her hair for the occasion. She had silver hoops and a short diamond necklace along with a longer one with a pearl pendant. Sweet Pea put his hand on her lower back to guide her into Pops. Fangs stood on the other side of her.
They walk in to see a line that leads to the backroom. It was odd to see the contrast of the fancy dresses and suits in the old-fashioned diner. Reggie walked over when he saw them. "Hey, come on guys." He led them to the front of the line. "Looking great, Abby." He winks.
"Thank you." She smiles. Sweets let out a low grunt. Fangs sighes at the pissing contest that never seems to end between the two. Reggie opens the door to lead them into the underground nightclub. "Woah," She looked around the room. It looked like something out of a 1920s movie.
"Hello, Great Gatsby." Fangs whistled at one of the waitresses that were dressed like a flapper girl. She came over to hand them a drink.
"Virgin." Sweet sneer after taking a sip of the virgin cocktail.
"I'm so happy to see you guys." Veronica came over to greet them.
"Thank you for the invite." Abby nods.
"Don't be silly. Of course, you'd be invited." She smiled.
"Veronica, we got a problem." Reggie came over to pull her away.
"I wonder what's that about." She watches Reggie lead Veronica upstairs.
"You did enough detective work, today." Fangs brought her attention back to them.
"Yeah, enjoy yourself." Sweet Pea agrees.
"Ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Veronica Lodge, I thank you, one and all, for coming to the grand opening of La Bonne Nuit. Now, please welcome to the stage, the one and only, Miss Josephine McCoy." Kevin spoke from the stage.
The crowd cheers and applause. Fangs let out a wolf whistle. She came on stage to sing, Anything Goes by Frank Sinatra. Abby leans against Sweet Pea as the sweet melody relaxes her.
She had no idea that moment was going to be the calm before the storm.