CHAPTER 4: TRICK OR TREAT

In one corner of the large foyer was a metal bucket about the size of a cauldron, held up by a small table. It held a pool of water inside, with apples bobbing along the surface. Newspapers were set up underneath to prevent spillage, and Philip was floating next to another table holding little black bags.

"Step right up and test your luck!" Philip cried, sounding like a carnival barker. "Put on the blindfold, dive down for an apple, and win a bag of candy!" There were already a number of students drying themselves off with spare towels; there hadn't been a winner yet. One boy suddenly straightened up and gasped for air. Once he removed the blindfold and turned around, Jill saw that he had familiar dark hair and a spade symbol around his right eye.

"Darn! I almost had it!" Deuce Spade said, trading his blindfold for one of the small towels.

"Better luck next time!" Ace Trappola said mockingly. His back was to Jill… the temptation was too great…

"BOO!" Jill suddenly grabbed Ace's shoulder. Instead of being startled, the heart-faced redhead just laughed and turned around to smirk at her.

"Nice try, Jill. But you can't scare me," Ace said. "And you never will."

"One day, I will!" Jill pouted. It was a little rivalry between the two of them—Jill wanted to prove that she could properly represent the Pumpkin King, while Ace was convinced that she couldn't scare a butterfly without her signature spell.

"Oh, Jill!" Deuce greeted. "This is a nice party. Reminds me of the Halloween parties we have in the Queendom of Roses."

"Well, that's only because you helped me set up the sound system," Jill said, playfully punching Deuce's shoulder. "Thanks again for all that, Mr. Mechanic."

"Sure thing," Deuce returned with a grin.

"So, Jill…" Ace put a hand on her shoulder. "Isn't it your turn to bob for an apple?"

"What? No! I don't need my hair wet right now!" Jill said, moving his hand away.

Three older students watched the friends in amusement—Cater Diamond, Trey Clover, and Riddle Rosehearts. As soon as Jill spied the short redhead, she made a beeline for him.

"Gentlemen, welcome to Hallowgrim!" she greeted the trio. "And a happy unbirthday!"

"You're like the only one outside our dorm to say that…" Ace said from behind her.

"Thanks, Jill. It's definitely a lot more pleasant than last Halloween party… you know, because our friends aren't kidnapped by ghosts this time," Trey mentioned casually.

"Yeah, this place is nice! And the decorations are adorbs!" Cater said. He pulled out his phone. "I already took a couple of pics for Magicam, if you don't mind me posting them? I'll tag ya, I promise."

"Sure." Jill shrugged. She was never big on social media, only using her own Magicam account to keep up with her friends. "…Of course," she changed the subject, "this dorm is based on the Pumpkin King. I don't want it to be too scary, but I don't think it should be adorbs."

"Aw, it's a compliment, J-Bones!" Cater assured her. "Peeps like a friendly atmosphere. It invites them right in!" As he spoke, he was updating his account with more pictures.

Finally, Jill turned to the Heartslabyul housewarden. "How about you, Riddle? Are you having fun?"

Riddle Rosehearts, who normally had a lot of presence, was notably quiet. "I think I am…" he said, "But I will admit, I don't have much frame of reference for how effective this party is."

"What do you mean?" Jill asked worriedly.

"I've never been to a Halloween party in the Queendom of Roses," Riddle explained. "They were full of unhealthy food, they were entirely frivolous, and they distracted from my studies. …That's what I was told."

Jill nodded sadly. She'd already heard the story of Riddle's overbearing mother.

"I've only had unbirthday parties in Heartslabyul, and I'm not overly familiar with the Pumpkin King," said Riddle. "So I'm not sure if this reflects your king accurately. The only thing I can compare it to is the Halloween we had earlier this year, which…" he sighed. "…Despite the ghosts' intentions, that wasn't the best party I've had."

"So… are you having fun or not?" Deuce asked. Riddle just glanced down, not sure how to answer.

"I know what'll loosen you up," Cater declared. "Let's all bob for apples!"

"All of us?" Trey asked.

"Yeah, why not? It's a Halloween tradition! And we Heartslabyuls are all about tradition!" Cater said. He put his phone away, put on a blindfold, and stuck his head into the bucket. A second later, he came back up, his face and hair soaking wet. "Phooey! Alright, Trey, your turn!"

"If you insist… I'm no good at games like this, though," Trey admitted. He removed his glasses, put on a blindfold, and made a dive. But just like Deuce and Cater before him, he didn't get an apple. "That's what I expected," he said as he dried himself off and put his glasses back on.

"Your turn, Riddle!" Jill called over to him.

"Hold on… I need to observe this more," Riddle said. "I can't imagine it's comfortable being splashed with water."

"It's okay, Riddle! Ace will show you how it's done!" Jill declared, throwing a smirk to the amateur magician.

"Jill! You're putting me on the spot here!" Ace complained. "I don't wanna do this kid's stuff!"

"But we did it, and we're older than you." Trey gave a mischievous smile. "It's your turn, Ace."

"Don't you always brag how you can beat any game?" Deuce reminded him.

"C'mon, Acey. Don't be a chicken!" Cater encouraged.

"Alright, fine, I'll do it. Get off my back," Ace scoffed. He took a blindfold, hesitated… then lowered his head into the water. When he came out, he had a bright red apple in his mouth. Everyone around him applauded as the first winner at apple-bobbing.

"Congratulations!" Philip said. He gave Ace a spare towel and a little bag of candy. Ace twirled the bag around his finger as he strutted up to the others.

"All that for a bag of candy," Ace said. "At least it was easy. Your turn, Jill!"

"Huh…?" But Jill was suddenly flanked by both Ace and Deuce, and the duo grabbed her shoulders and steered her over to the bucket. Philip all but tied the blindfold around her head. Despite her meager protests, she was hoisted by her own petard. Jill sighed, held her breath, and plunged. The water was ice-cold, and she couldn't feel anything in her teeth when she tried to bite. She rose up for air and threw the blindfold back at Philip. As soon as she got a towel, she wrung out her hair thoroughly so it wouldn't drip down her back.

"Well, I've never been good with games…" she admitted sheepishly. The Heartslabyuls looked pleased, and Riddle was pressing a hand against his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Okay, I've decided… I'm going to try," Riddle announced. The others moved aside for him. Once Riddle was up, he tied on his blindfold carefully, hesitated… and went down. When he emerged, he had an apple in his mouth.

"Riddle! You did it!" Cater cheered.

"Good job! And on your first try, too!" Trey said.

Riddle removed the blindfold, held his apple, and received his towel and candy. "I won!" he said happily. "I honestly didn't think I would get it, it seems so difficult!" He glanced at the apple. "Do I keep the apple too?"

"Yeah, it's yours," Jill said. "Whenever you're trick-or-treating, there's always that one house that gives you apples."

Riddle chuckled. "So this is what a proper Halloween party is like," he mused. "It is fun! Thank you for letting us attend, Jill!"

Jill beamed at him. It seemed so surreal that they'd be getting along so well. In the beginning of the year, Riddle Rosehearts was just like the Queen of Hearts in the worst way. He was obsessed with the Queen's rules, punished students for even the slightest transgression, and had a temper like a firecracker. Ace, Deuce, Grim, and even Jill herself were shackled by his "Off With Your Head" spell at one point. Jill remembered the pain of the metal collar around her neck, and the suffocating helplessness of losing her magic, and thought she would never forgive Riddle for his cruelty.

But although he could still be hot-tempered and a stickler, Riddle had cooled down a lot since his overblot attack. He'd even learned to respect the Pumpkin King, even though he wasn't one of the Great Seven and he had a lot less rules than the Queen of Hearts. Jill and Grim would attend several unbirthday parties since then, and Jill had a lot of fun painting roses and playing croquet (albeit with hedgehogs and flamingoes). It didn't seem like Riddle would have a blot problem anytime soon…

"Ooh, you know what?" Cater said. "We all need to get a pic together!"

"Now?" Riddle asked.

"But my hair's still wet!" Jill was threading her towel through her black locks.

"Aw, it's okay. It looks like we all had fun!" Cater insisted. And so he, Jill, Trey, Riddle, Ace, and Deuce all got in for a group shot. "Say 'Boo!'"

"Boo!" Jill said just as the picture was taken. She felt like she was forgetting something, or rather, someone…

"Say, where's Grim?" Deuce asked. "He's not making trouble, is he?"

"He'd better not be," Jill said. "I'll go find him. You guys continue your merrymaking!" She waved them off and fled, hearing their farewells behind her.

She remembered that Grim wanted food. The dining hall seemed like a good place to find him.