Chapter One hundred ninety-six – Lop Before You Leaf

All of the children were back the next morning, and breakfast was lively with Geraldine and Eleanor telling everyone about their Idomoros.

Not that Eleanor could get into too many specifics, but she said she scrubbed her grandfather’s crypt, and ‘walked and walked before my candle went out.’ Geraldine admitted that she forgot to protect her candle from the wind, and it blew out, but that was all right, because Clara gave her her candle, and that one ended up being the last one in a whole big group, so Geraldine got to light everyone’s lanterns. The girl gave her older sister adoring looks as she told this story, and Clara actually looked vaguely uncomfortable as she cut her morning sausage into dainty bites.

By lunchtime, the conversation had shifted to costumes, and what kind of Guising gift everyone preferred. “I heard some people give socks. I don’t want any old socks,” Thaniel said.

Beneath the table, Abbington’s feet tucked beneath his chair, as if he was trying to conceal the thin and holey socks that didn’t quite fill the extra space in his new shoes. “Ahlikesocks,” he murmured, though no one else seemed to hear him. Pandy made a mental note to buy socks while she was out today, just in case he didn’t get any.

“I want seed balls!” Geraldine said. “When we went to Amberlock, there was a woman selling them. She said she heated seeds until they exploded, then coated them in caramel and squashed them into a ball. They were so good!”

Pandy’s ears perked up. What were the odds that this woman had created caramel popcorn? And had she tried adding cheese to the kernels yet? What would Pandy do for cheesy popcorn? Why hadn’t she gone to Amberlock with the others?

“Now I’m sorry I missed it,” Augustus said, clearly amused. “I didn’t know seeds could explode.”

“I don’t think they all do,” Geraldine acknowledged graciously. “I tried to make Thimbleweed cookies one time, and they just burned up.”

“They burned because you put them directly into the fire, my darling,” Lady Reedsley said. “The manor smelled of smoke and feet for a week.”

“To be fair, it only smelled like feet because I was drying my boots by the stove, and Geraldine accidentally pushed one in,” Lord Reedsley said mildly, causing his younger daughter to wail, “Papaaaa!” as everyone else chuckled.

After lunch, the children hurried off to Mrs. Farrier’s workroom, vanishing one by one into the space behind the curtain so they could put on their costumes. Abbington’s robe was now exactly the right length, and Mrs. Farrier stuck on his false beard with a clear goo that also worked to hold on bushy eyebrows and massive fake nose. The nose looked like someone had hollowed out a potato and then painted it to match Abbington’s tanned face, but he seemed very proud of himself as he showed off the completed look.

Geraldine’s princess-dress now sported even more bows and ruffles, so she looked a bit like a walking purple birthday cake. When it came time for Miss Cupcakes to get the matching ruched tulle collar, however, the kitten was nowhere to be found.

Thaniel’s Pirate Pete sword was now attached to his belt, and there was a handkerchief neatly knotted around his head beneath a wide hat. He wore knee-high boots, though Pandy had no idea how or when he’d gotten them, because they looked functional, not costumey. He even had a tiny eye-patch for Pandy, which she obligingly accepted, since she knew she wouldn’t have to wear it that night. She wondered how long his own eye-cover would last, once he realized darkness and limited vision did not go well together.

Eleanor was the last one to get dressed, and took the longest, though her costume was really quite simple. Mrs. Farrier and Geraldine even went back to help, and when she emerged, Pandy would have sworn she was looking at a boy about Thaniel’s age and size. The shorts were now held up with suspenders, and long socks covered her calves, leaving none of her pale skin exposed. Dirt artfully streaked her cheeks and chin, and her hair was pinned and tucked beneath her cap, leaving only a few short wisps protruding in the back.

“Wow!” Thaniel said when she emerged. “You can run around with me and Abbington now, and you don’t even have to worry ‘bout your dress getting dirty.”

Mrs. Farrier clucked her tongue good-naturedly as she sat back down in her chair and picked up a shirt. “You should worry about getting dirty, Thaniel,” she told him, “but I’ll concede that so long as there aren’t any holes in your clothes, you won’t get in too much trouble.” She held up the shirt, blinking one eye through a hole the size of a teacup.

Lowering it, she looked at Isidor. “You still don’t want a costume?” she asked. “I’m sure we can find something, though there’s no time left to alter it.”

Isidor shook his head. “I’m staying here. We don’t- I don’t like Guising.”

Hmm. That sounded more like he wasn’t allowed to go. But who would tell him he couldn’t? Was there no Guising Eve in East Altheric? Did the Master disapprove of dressing up and knocking on strangers’ doors?

Isidor and Abbington were the only ones not going Guising with everyone else, and Abbington actually looked like he was regretting the decision to go to the Farriers’ family gathering instead. It sounded like the Valley celebrated quite differently, however, with a large meal and exchanging the local equivalent of white elephant gifts before going out to visit friends and neighbors who would ply them with still more food – and beverages for the adults.

As soon as everyone was in their costumes, they reconvened in the foyer, where the adults oohed and ahhed appreciatively over the costumes. In this world, everyone who went guising dressed up, so Lady Reedsley’s dress was absolutely covered in flowers, looking like a lush mobile garden. Her skirt was even larger than usual, dripping with moss and small pieces of statuary.

Lord Reedsley’s sole concession to the occasion was a brightly colored scarf that trailed to his feet. Everyone besides Pandy seemed to understand the reference, because they all laughed when they first saw him, with Lady Reedsley shaking her head with affectionate good humor.

Augustus was wearing an outfit not that dissimilar from Eleanor’s, except that he had on leather gloves, a woven straw hat, and worn boots. When asked, he positively twinkled at Pandy and said he was a carrot farmer. He proved this by pulling a whole handful of carrots from his pocket and handing them out to all of the children, with an extra-large one for Pandy. 

Someone – probably Lady Reedsley – had convinced Clara to dress up, and she wore a simple white dress, with long sleeves, a high neck, and white feathered wings expanding from her back. As far as Pandy knew, the concept of angels was foreign to this world, so Pandy wasn’t certain what she was supposed to be, but she looked so ethereally lovely that Pandy would have liked to just bask in her presence all night. If, that is, it hadn’t seemed likely that the girl would just try to kill her again.

“Don’t we need dinner?” Thaniel asked as Augustus sent for a trio of carriages. The first would carry Abbington and the Farriers’ to their family home, while the other two would be packed to the brim with the rest of the group. Apparently they had learned from their experience with the Grange displays.

Lord Reedsley shook his head. “You’ll get plenty of food. I remember one year I got eighteen baked potatoes.”

“That’s because you were so thin,” Lady Reedsley chided him. “Everyone thought you must be starving.”

Her husband laughed, patting his belly, which was just barely bulging out over the waistband of his pants. “No one would know it now.”

Lady Alice chuckled. “I got a dozen potatoes myself that year. Perhaps they worked.”

Lord Reedsley placed a loud, moist kiss on her plump cheek. “Then I am glad for every potato, my dear.” He smiled, his usual reserve entirely absent, and she took his hand in her green-gloved one. Beside them, Clara watched, perfect brows drawn together as if she was trying to puzzle out some great mystery, while Geraldine just rolled her eyes and sighed.

Abbington and the Farriers left first, amidst effusive thanks from the older couple. Apparently the family home was nearby, so they usually walked unless their daughter-in-law was able to come and pick them up, so the ride was a pleasant surprise. Abbington waved from the window until he was out of sight, with Brook’s soft, square nose peering over his shoulder as he leaned out.

The next carriage was the largest, so it took the Reedsleys, with Lord Reedsley and Clara on each side of the door, pushing Lady Reedsley’s skirt into an herbaceous croissant as she made her way through. Geraldine held the hem down so her mother wouldn’t flash them all with sight of her equally verdant knickers. The girl looked longingly at her friends when she climbed into a space filled almost entirely with fabric and flowers, though the sweet scent that wafted out indicated that at least that part of the experience would be much more enjoyable than the last time they’d been crammed into a carriage.

At last it was time for Thaniel, Pandy, Eleanor, Lord Winston – who was wearing his jaunty crown once again – and Augustus. As they all climbed in, the chancellor saw Thaniel looking around and said, “Lian will meet us there, don’t worry.” He smiled reassuringly, and Pandy knew he’d guessed correctly when the little pirate relaxed into his seat.

Once the carriage got underway, Augustus looked around and said, “Now, as I recall, the trick to guising is where you go.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “When you go to a baker’s house, you get cakes. When you go to a cobbler’s house, you’re quite likely to get socks, or shoelaces.”

He chuckled at Thaniel’s crestfallen expression. “We’re going to a neighborhood that should be both safe and relatively quiet, which means the people who live there won’t be saving their gifts for all the people after us. They do lovely decorations, though, and some people will be having parties, and may invite us in.”

He grew stern again and said, “Unfortunately, we can’t join them tonight. Perhaps in future years, or when you go with your own families, but for tonight, we shall stay in together and in public. Also, however difficult it may be to resist, don’t open or eat anything anyone gives you until we get back to school. Understood?”

Thaniel had sunk lower and lower in his seat as Augustus spoke, but Eleanor reached over and took his hand. It was odd to see her familiar, gentle smile on the dirty face of a strange boy. “Don’t worry,” she told him. “You get used to it, and soon you won’t even notice.”

Pandy doubted that. Thaniel followed rules more because he didn’t want to disappoint anyone than because he had any great belief that they applied to him. When there was no one around, or if he thought he could get away with it, he ignored them completely, so Pandy hopped off his lap, glanced at the curtains covering the windows, and thought, <Cast Shifting Faces.>

Shifting Faces successful.

Two more uses to level 8.

03:52:00 remaining today.

For once, the System had no suggestions for other skills or spells she might use, perhaps because it knew it was about to get all the use it could possibly want, so the words quickly faded away, so Pandy could see the startled expressions on everyone’s faces as the open space in the compartment grew abruptly smaller.

Crouching down in front of Thaniel, Pandy turned out his vest, revealing the Heartsplit Charm pinned there. Over the last few days, she’d begun spending a few minutes each morning in human form, talking to Thaniel about their plans and taking advantage of having arms to give him hugs. This morning, she’d made sure to remind him to attach the pin to his costume, and now she touched it with a fingertip.

“If you need me, tear this off, right?” she asked, and Thaniel nodded. Turning to Eleanor, she said, “Do you have yours?” Eleanor nodded as well, flipping the collar of her shirt to show her pin sitting beside the pendant of her necklace. Augustus’s eyebrows raised, and Pandy realized she’d never actually told him about the charms – mostly because if she did, she’d also have to tell him how she got them, and that was just embarrassing.

Reaching out, Pandy laid her hands on each side of Thaniel’s face, and stared into his eyes. “Listen to Augustus. Stay together. And if you need me, use the charm.”

To her shock and horror, Thaniel’s eyes filled with tears, and his lip wobbled. Throwing his arms around her, he nodded, as the System added a few more Corruption Points to her total. “I love you, too,” Thaniel whispered, and Pandy finally understood. Hugging him tightly, she pressed a kiss to his curls and held him as the carriage rattled its way over the cobblestones, making them sway together.

At last, however, the somewhat desperate grip of his small arms relaxed, and Pandy released him, then held out her hand, pinky extended. “Pinky swear.” He gave a watery grin, and shook. Pandy stood and turned to Augustus. “Would you get the door?” she asked, and released Shifting Faces.

Though his expression held a thousand questions, Augustus did as she’d asked, and Pandy hopped out into the street, launching herself forward gracefully. Her grand gesture was rather ruined when she smacked into the side of a carriage going the other direction, then barely avoided being run over by a half a dozen different wheels. By the time she reached the side of the street, she was down almost thirty Life Force, and made a mental note to definitely look before leaping next time.

After a couple of Minor Heals, she glanced back and forth, then hopped off down the street. She was going to see a man about some real estate.