Colors Bite Sized Adventures EP5 - Zombie Dance Part I: Welcome Back!

Another day has come and gone so fast, just like the last one, and the one before. Though we received a neat little bundle from Salvador for our efforts after bringing an end to my sister, Mandy’s devious plans, the money will only get us so far for so long, so for the past few nights, I have been sitting in my room, with nothing but a dim lightbulb, fitting to the ambience, and a small tablet that I borrowed from Roxy. Though technology has never been my strong point, she has taught me how to surf the web, so I have been perusing the job sites, looking for some openings to anywhere going... I doubt I would like those minimum wages that gets passed around every so often, but hey, every little helps.

Still, my mind can’t help but wonder about everything that has happened over the past few months. I was an emotional wreck, whose head was swimming with ghosts of the past and the demons I was convinced I was. But I let people close to me, and as a result... the demons might not go away so easily, but I like to think I have learned to integrate into a friendly circle again. Though my family are all long gone, dead or distant, that is honestly for the best.

Urgh, remembering the past makes me lose focus, and it has been hours of searching, so I should call it a night here. The gaze of the moon may look inviting as it watches me from the crack in the curtains, but my bed with new freshly dried black sheets, it looks the most tantalising of all. As I slip between the sheets and let my eyes drift to the sweet release of sleep, I hear a crash and a rumble on my roof, of all places, followed by footsteps. Maybe it’s Santa Claus, making up for all those Christmases missed... only four days before Halloween. With a sigh and a groan, I climb right back out of bed, collect my guns and costume from the suitcase under the bed, and head outside just in time to watch a huge thing flying away into the moonlight. Guess it’s gone now.

I head back inside and walk immediately back to my room, wondering what all that was actually for. That’s when the idea hit me to check the fireplace, to see if someone is coming down the chimney. My guns in hand, I walk up to the fireplace in the living room but come to a wax sealed letter, resting on the cold hearth. I check up the chimney to find no one there, and I put my guns down... but not far from me.

I pick up the letter and open the seal, to see the gothic style black letter inside.

“Dearest Eliza,

Despite our differences in the small time we reunited, I would like to make amends in some way. We may have gone two separate paths, but in our blood, we are still family. In light of the holiday, I am inviting you to return to my land for a truly terrifying dance party, where the spooks aren’t fake and the gross-looking food is actually gross! (I will be serving food for us too.)

You have four days remaining to attend, though I would like you to come earlier, so we can talk, and get you settled in. I pray that you can attend, as my need for revenge died with Garcia, and burying my beloved was an eye-opener of such. Whether you can forgive and forget, or throw the letter in the bin, I’ll send my dear friend, Aera tomorrow night for your answer. Hope to see you soon.

Your big sister and Crownbearer of Death,

Amanda Carlyle.”

A party, hosted by the new Death herself? My mind seems to be torn on the idea. On one hand, I have never been to a party before, especially a Halloween themed one, and would love to try one. On the other hand, it’ll mean going back to the place where I almost died... many times, and could very well be leading to another trap. Since I now know her weakness, and can easily bring down the castle if needed, I put the letter back in the envelope, as I make my final decision... I’m going.

After an uneventful sleep, I wake up with a cold chill on my face, as the once warm morning air has simmered down noticeably over the past few days. I suppose Summer really is gone and buried for another year. After getting ready, I decide to tidy up the bedroom to a presentable manner, then get myself ready and dressed in my new lacy black dress with my slightly torn black tights. I put my suitcase on the bed, ready to eventually pack to the brim later tonight, still having some doubts deep down about my final decision. Going downstairs to the living room, I notice that Lyle is already eating from the seed bowl I got for him, though he looks like he isn’t enjoying himself much. The creaking of the staircase beneath of my feet alerts him to my presence, as he turns his head sharply in my direction.

“Morning, sleeping beauty. Did you enjoy your sleep?” Lyle asks, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice... not like he has earned that right to be cocky with me or anything, but I’ll keep the peace.

“...The best. You’re up early.” I say, coming down the stairs and giving him a small poke on his beak.

“Yeah, blame that on that cage you insist I sleep in from now on. I got out of one recently, if you can recall. Also, while we’re on the subject, I may be a bird now, but that doesn’t mean I suddenly eat seeds. Where’s the nourishment in that?” Lyle asks, as he continues to eat from the bowl.

“Alright, fine, I’ll get some proper food next shopping run, but you’re responsible enough to choose your own bed, so just sleep wherever. Just not in my bed, or it’s open season on toy birds.” I say to him, preparing my own cereal and sitting next to him. “Oh yeah, just letting you know that after tonight, I’ll be gone for a few days. I’ll drop you off at the Locksley House before I go.”

“Wait, you’re going? Screw that, I’m coming with you. Where you going? Anywhere in this world is good for me.” Lyle says, confident and excitedly.

“I’ve been invited back to Decain.” I say, not even looking up from my own bowl, though I start to take notice when I hear coughing and sputtering from him.

I look across and see that he must have a seed lodged in his tiny throat. I give a squeeze and the seed shoots like out, like a little slingshot.

“Thank you. Decain? Really? Are you mad? Do you remember who the queen is there?” Lyle asks, panicking as he flies up to my face.

“I’m aware. She seems to be content on burying hatchets, so the least I can do is hear her out. I am the only one who can defeat her, after all.” I say, feeling more powerful than I have ever in my life, and that’s not even looking down at my new ring.

“Alright. Well, if you need me, I’ll be at the Locksley House. At least they show me hospitality over there.” Lyle says, flapping away into the next room, though I’m not sure whether he was putting me down, or Mandy.

After packing up everything I need, I decide to go take Lyle to the Locksley House, as lunch time is already here, and he won’t take another helping of seeds. After passing through the luscious gardens, I knock on the usual giant door, as Reeve answers a moment later, looking as cheery as always, wearing some sort of training garb.

“Ahh, Miss Carlyle. Always a surprise. Come in, come in.” Reeve says, as he stands aside to let me inside. “Never mind these clothes. I just finished sparring with Master Andrew in the arena. I’ll go let him know you’ve arrived.”

As Reeve exits, another door opens upstairs, and footsteps can be heard travelling from the left to right.

“Hey Reeve, where’s the hairdryer? I know you were the last one to use it.” Blanche says, shouting just out of view.

“In the kitchen, Miss Blanchett.” Reeve shouts from the room underneath her.

“Urgh, really? Now I have to get down the stairs like this. I really wish I have telekinetic powers, then I could just move them with my mind or some crap like-“ Blanche rants quietly to herself, as she climbs down the stairs.

Looking at her, she is wearing just a towel, dripping from top to toe, and no make-up. I dare say that she looks like a completely different person when she goes natural. After a moment, as she passes by the living room, she notices Lyle and I looking at her. She stops in her tracks and goes a bright shade of red in the face.

“Wowsers.” Lyle says, looking too stunned for words right now, which might work to my benefit in the long run.

“Hey Blanche. Feeling cleaner, are we?” I ask her, not knowing what else to ask, feeling just as awkward as she is right now.

“Hey Liz. Oh well, better for it to be a gal pal than a guy. Would love to talk, but I have to... you know, hair stuff. So if you have time to spare, just come up to my room in like... say, ten minutes. Okay? Ta-ta.” Blanche says, running to grab the hairdryer and retreating to her room.

“Wow. She just never stops getting hotter and hotter, does she?” Lyle asks, slightly drooling out of his woman-crazy beak.

“Do you seriously think about anything other than women and food?” I ask, snapping my fingers in his face to bring him back to reality.

“Hey, I’m a guy first, and a bird second, you know?” Lyle asks, giving me an insight to what he must have been like when he was human.

After a little moment of silence, the door opens, and Reeve and Andy step into the room, looking a little short of breath. The two look at me and walk over, smiling nicely.

“Hey Lizzie. You got here early for the big party tonight.” Andy says, assuming that I already know about this party.

“Party? What kind of party?” I ask, genuinely confused, since no one has mentioned it to me until now.

“You didn’t check your phone this morning? And here I thought I was bad with keeping tabs on my phone.” Andy says, slightly chuckling to himself under his breath.

I check my phone really quick and see that lo and behold, there is one unread text from Blanche. I sheepishly look back up at him, knowing that I am the one who looks foolish.

“My apologies. Well, I’m sorry to spoil it all, but I actually came here to tell you that I’m heading out tonight for a couple of days.” I say, feeling kind of bad that I didn’t say anything beforehand.

“That’s fine. Just be a dear, and tell Blanche for me. She was the one who asked me to send the message.” Andy says, as he walks to the living room sofa.

“Alright. Lyle, wait here for a moment.” I say to him, as I put him on the back of the sofa, and climb the stairs to Blanche’s room.

I knock on the door, and slowly walk inside, seeing her huge bedroom in a red-tinted glow, giving it almost a hellish look. Blanche is at her mirror, applying her make-up, already wearing her favourite white sparkly frock.

“Ahh, there you are. How do I look? Great, or too great? Don’t worry, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Blanche says, in her usual air of over-confidence, looking at me through the mirror.

“You know it. Andy told me something about a party?” I ask, trying to squeeze the finer details out of her.

“Yes, that’s right. I scored tickets for this swanky new little drinking club down on the business side of town. It’s just some karaoke bar, so I thought we would go down there and show them what the word dazzling really means. You in?” Blanche says, getting excited for it.

“That does sound tempting, but I’m afraid I have to leave tonight for a few days. I was invited to this party by my sister, and-“ I try to explain, before she slams her make-up case down and jumps out of her seat.

“Oh? So, you’re leaving us to go see someone who try to kill you many times over? Why I have never heard anything so... Don’t worry, I’m just pulling your leg. Yeah, that’s fine. If she gives you hell, you can just give it right back.” Blanche says, sounding stern at first, but she starts to break into laughter half way through her sentence, though it’s not like she hasn’t had her genuine outbursts before.

“I will. Thank you for understanding. So, Lyle’s alright to crash here for a couple of days?” I ask, hoping that we’re on the same page about this.

“Sure, sure. Just tell that stupid perverted bird not to stare so much. It was sweet at first, but it gets creepy pretty quickly.” Blanche says, returning to her mirror.

With that, I go back to my place after an hour, to collect my suitcase. Heading back out of the door, knowing that I won’t be sleeping in that bed for a couple of nights now. The night has quickly crept up on us since we weren’t looking, leaving the sky completely black and extremely cloudy. Walking down the pathway to the main square at nighttime, the rippling of the stream as it travels into the park, it all takes me back to my time of need, the time when I thought I was beyond saving. Even though I would never go back to those days, and though the demon still rears its ugly head from time to time, at least there was some light to offset the constant darkness. The night air at this altitude is quite overwhelming and chilly, but after the constant sun we’ve been having, it makes a pleasant change.

After a brisk walk, I go back to say my goodbyes to the others, since they should all be at the Locksley House by now. I walk over to the main door, and see that everyone is just heading out in their sharpest clothes. They all wave me over after they spot me from afar, the excitement of the nightlife in the air.

“Well guys, I’ll be seeing you soon. Have fun tonight.” I say to the others, kind of wishing that I was going too.

Suddenly, Poppy jumps forward to hug me, quite tightly for a woman so small.

“Please be safe there. I still get the jeebies about it.” Poppy says, sounding worried about me, as the wind blows our hair all over each other’s faces.

“Come on, Poppy. Lizzie is better now, she has defeated her sister once before, so there is a big chance that she can-“ Roxy says, coming forward to put her hand on Poppy’s shoulder.

“I know that. Lizzie is more than capable. I just worry about my friends, is all.” Poppy says, still sounding a little scared, as her voice goes even higher, yet smaller.

“Good luck out there, kiddo. Remember, if that witch causes you trouble, just keep that crown next time.” Nuko says, patting me on the back, a little rougher than I expected, throwing me a little off-balance.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but be wary. She must have invited you there with some motive in mind.” Andy says, ruffling my hair, like it didn’t take a good 10 minutes to brush to an acceptable standard for a change.

“Well, enjoy it tonight, guys. I’ll be back by November 1st. I promise.” I say, trying to keep my cool and collected self together, but something keeps curving the pokerface I have practiced for so long, into a disgustingly big smile... I suppose it’s having someone who actually cares about me for the first time since before I can remember.

“Have fun. Ooh, if there is any cake going at that party, please bring me back a slither. I’ll be forever grateful.” Blanche says, sounding a little too desperate for that cake... that diet she put herself on must be taking its toll on her.

“I’ll see what I can do. Have a happy Halloween guys.” I say, walking away towards the entrance of Watcher Central, feeling a little anxious about all of this.

With the streetlights to guide me, I make my way on the road towards the familiar elevator, where I lean by the railing next to it, waiting for that monstrous bird to come for the answer she desires. I wait for another 15 minutes, as the strong wind makes short work of the extra effort I put into my ever-growing hair, making it look like little black and pink snakes, wriggling around on my head. After another minute passes, I can see Aera flying directly under the face of the moonlight, as majestic as something you’d normally find on a symphonic metal album cover. She spots me with her huge dazzling crimson eye, flying ever so close to the wall, coming in too hot to stop in time. I brace myself for her to slam into the railing and clear me off my feet, but she manages to stop in her tracks, just inches from my face, perching onto the railing that I was just leaning on.

I put my hand out for her to check, and eventually rub the side of her feathery head on, trusting me enough to let me pet her... I know I probably shouldn’t think this, considering all the times this thing has tried to kill us all, but from this point of view, she is actually kind of cute.

“Hello Aera. I have the answer you came for. I will go with you. I am ready when you are.” I say to her, trying to speak like I have heard Mandy speak to her.

Like a charm, she turns her body around and bends down, allowing me to climb onto her back. With one hand on the back of her neck, and the other on my small suitcase, we start to fly into the night. The wind from this height is definitely getting stronger, as my teeth go cold and numb, and I’m not complaining too much, but I might have swallowed a fly immediately after take-off. After a while of flying in a straight line, Aera switches it up a bit, by twisting and turning, before diving into the clouds, coming out the other side. She goes down to the water and sticks her talons in, making two trails of splashes, like a waterski would leave. It all seems so wholesome and playful, but when she starts to lift once again into the sky, I can see that she has skewered a fish in her mighty talons, probably saving it for later.

After a little while, we arrive at the dark woods, where the train station of doom stands. However, we seem to be going through the trees. I brace my face for a thousand tiny branch slaps, but there is nothing. Hesitantly, I open my eyes slowly to see that I am now flying over the kingdom of Decain, still looking as dismal and dreary as ever, with the castle looming over everything, like a watchful eye of a dictator. On the ground, I can see that the guards who once fought us, are now walking around the streets as normal people. There’s no real thought process behind it, I just think it’s a curious sight to see.

As we grow near to the foot of the castle, Aera touches ground on the pathway just outside the front entrance. The courtyard looks like it has been decorated with cute little bats, funny looking plastic skeletons, and some uncanny terrifying mangled bodies, all in the spirit of the holidays, I suppose. I pet Aera’s feathery body one last time, before she takes to the sky and perches herself on the castle’s balcony. Before I can wonder what to do next, the front doors swing open, as Mandy stands in the centre, walking towards me in her usual decorative bone dress that she insists on wearing. Behind her, she has a sizeable entourage of guard ghouls all following her every step, like they’re one beat away from breaking into the greatest music video ever seen... that would be weird.

“Welcome back to Decain, Eliza. So you decided to bring the rsvp in person? A bold move, if I dare say so myself.” Mandy says, stopping just next to me, smiling at me in a maniacal kind of way, though I’m sure any face she pulls now will look menacing in some way.

“Yeah, I’ve never been one to shy away from an invitation. I just hope you don’t try to kill me again.” I say, not wanting to mince words with the woman I once considered my mortal enemy.

“Don’t worry, like I said, that’s all in the past. You’ll find this stay much more hospitable. Now, shall we?” Mandy asks, presenting the way forward with a big suspicious smile on her face.

Swallowing my pride, I start to walk by her side, under the watchful eyes of everyone else around me. They all just stare at me with vacant expressions, like they haven’t got a brain left between them. We go into the front doors of the castle, where everything is lit ominously with purple-tinted candles, making the huge corridor look even more intimidating than it already should have been.

“Well, you still have three days left until the party, so we’ll have to get you settled in nicely. I must warn you that all of my servants are already here to enjoy the festivities, and they are... how do I put it?... a wee bit eccentric.” Mandy says, as we walk towards the grand-looking door at the end of the hallway, decorated with cobwebs which look too real to be fake.

“Don’t worry, I can take a little eccentricity. Better to be a freak than a stick in the mud, right?” I ask, giggling to myself, not sure on what else to say to that.

Mandy looks at me with a raised eyebrow, before she silently opens the door to reveal a huge foyer where the many decorations are being put up around the walls. I can hear a strange song playing in the background, like the house band is practicing their set in the next room. There are quite a lot of ghouls here, though most of them look passable for the living world. To be honest, I start to get a little pit in my stomach, seeing the sheer size of the turnout.

“And here they all are, herding like sheep. They’re not relieved of their duty much per year, so this is probably their favourite time of year too.” Mandy says, already with a handful of gross looking food, as she slowly eats them with careless abandon.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? They all look so... normal.” I say, looking across everyone, to see that no one looks out of place or horrific, definitely a far cry from the unfortunate ones outside.

“Ah, but of course they do. But don’t be fooled though, they are very much dead. Since it was not by my hand that killed them, they kept their minds. And through my magic, they kept their bodies intact too, as if they never died in the first place. They are welcome.” Mandy says, looking pleased with herself, talking with her mouth slightly full. “Why don’t you go introduce yourself? You’re quite the celebrity here, you know.”

“Me? Why is that?” I ask, as Mandy starts to push me gently towards the crowd.

“Because you’re related to me, of course. Now, once you find a potential date, let me know, and I’ll check the lucky boy or girl over for you.” Mandy tells me with an air of finality in her tone, like I won’t have plenty of follow up questions.

“Huh? Potential date?” I ask, going a little red, feeling a little embarrassed, but mostly confused.

“Yeah, can’t dance the waltz at the end by yourself, and I had assumed you would bring that girlfriend with you. What happened with that, by the by?” Mandy asks me, with a smirk on her face.

It takes me a brief moment before I truly click what she just said. My girlfriend? Does she mean that time I was forced to declare my feelings to Poppy? That’s got to be it, that’s the time when she found out about my little secret.

“Poppy was never my girlfriend. That was a passing crush, that has passed since we became best friends.” I say, explaining our situation, though I could only imagine what life would have been like if it had went the other way.

Oh. A pity, really. Anyway, back to the present. Go for it, I’ll be rooting for you... from a safe distance.” Mandy says, walking off to do her own thing, pushing into the deep end.

With that, I was alone in a crowd of strange people. My legs start to shake and shiver, as I feel them start to walk me towards them. Other than that small thing for Poppy, I have had no experience in the field, and all I really know is that men just don’t give me that gut feeling. Though that makes my task a lot harder... I not only have to find a woman without a partner, but she has to be willing to dance with another woman. I honestly feel like just running out, and that I felt less shaky when I was an enemy here, but I slowly start to ask myself “will my life be a series of opportunities that I ran from?”

Asking myself that, I feel a little more confident as I walk through the crowd, sinking under a sea of voices. In my walk through, I look for the wallflowers, and just my luck, I find a bouquet of them just waiting on the seats, all by themselves. As I walk over to them, I can’t help but feel many eyes on me at any given moment.

“Hey. It’s Eliza, right?” I hear someone ask me from behind, in a soft male voice.

I look behind me and see a man with short black hair, glasses and a tuxedo on. He is smiling at me quite nicely, as I turn around to face him.

“Oh, hello. Errrm, yes. I think. Sorry, feeling a little like a fish out of water here.” I say, still not really sure what to do with myself.

“Well, I can assure you, my lady. You are right at home here. Mandy tells us that you are the future heir to the crown, and I pledged my allegiance to that crown, so if you need anything, I’m your man.” The man says, quite sweetly to me as he takes my hand in his... I only hope he doesn’t have any ulterior motives or anything.

“I suppose you could help me with one thing, mr...” I say to him, trying to coax his name from him.

“It’s Darius, my lady. What can I help you with?” Darius asks, still with that smile on his face.

“Those girls over there, I was wondering if you could wingman for me. I need to find a date for this thing in a matter of days.” I say, pointing him in the right direction.

“Huh? Ahh. Say no more. I actually don’t have one either, so let us go together, shall we?” Darius asks me, looking surprised at me, though he seems to understand me enough.

We walk over to the big group of lonely woman, with confidence that our chances will grow stronger in numbers... how wrong we were. One after another, they all decline us both, some already have dates, and some were just cold enough to just blatantly ignore us, like we were less than nothing. Needless to say, we walk back to a great distance, embarrassed and defeated.

“Well, that could have gone better.” I say, wondering to myself what we could have done wrong.

“That was a complete failure, that’s what it was.” Darius says, beating himself up inside, I have no doubt, since I can see it on his vacant expression.

“Still, maybe you did come on a little bit strong with them.” I say, wanting to be brutally honest, for his own good.

“What, me? If anything you were a little too casual with them. Using words like “sometime”, or “whatever.” Those clothes don’t help your case either.” Darius says, surprising me with a deeper cut from his sharp tongue than I thought possible.

While we could easily fight about it at this point, all we could really do is laugh it off and move on with the rest of our lives... or lack thereof.

“You know, you’re actually alright, for Mandy’s little sister. If you were only into men, I’d love to ask you.” Darius says, looking down at me as he slightly towers over my small body.

“Likewise. But don’t give up. When you don’t put your heart into something, it can show more than you think. Anyway, I’m going to take a walk. Nice meeting you.” I say to him, smiling as I walk away from him.

As I make my way back to Mandy, I can’t help but notice someone new coming in through the front door. I take a closer look and... my word. I see a fair maiden, dressed what looks like a black silk dress, with her big brunette hair in curls, wrapped in purple ribbons. Her arms covered to the elbow in black gloves. Her eyes are blue like the outer world sky, contrasted by her dark eyeshadow. And those lips are as crimson as the blood that circulates my veins. I know it would be weird to make her mine, considering that she only draws breath thanks to dark magic, but still, that doesn’t mean I can’t ask her to this thing. As people notice her, they all fall silent, before whispering amongst each other, I can only assume that she is quite well-known here in Decain.

Just then, the girl sets her sights on me, and she seems to be scared that my unwittingly staring eyes remain on her, so scared that she doubles back and leaves through the door she came in from. As I continue to watch the door, confused and dumbfounded, I can hear footsteps walk towards me in a feminine stride.

“So, any luck tonight?” Mandy asks me from behind, patting me on the back quite vigorously.

“I’m afraid not. Not tonight.” I reply to her, not knowing how else to respond.

“Oh. Oh well, better luck in the morning, right? Come. I’ll show you to your chambers.” Mandy says, walking away in the direction she came from, heading towards the stairway room that makes me shudder just to think of. “Oh yeah, the elevator’s broken. Hope that’s alright.”

Dreading the long climb up those stairs once again as I follow Mandy, my mind can’t help but wonder on the matters of which it shouldn’t dwell on. Who was that girl? Is she famous around here? As my eyes start to grow slightly heavier, I figure that these questions will be best saved for tomorrow.