Samhain Shenanigans

Vandrad was overjoyed, which was saying a lot. Granted, he wasn’t showing it in any kind of boisterous, outward way that would have drawn glances or suspicion, mostly because that wasn’t how he operated. But there was an air of… patience to him, as if things that would usually cause him to scoff or roll his eyes wouldn’t cause as much of a commotion as usual. There were lots of reasons that people knew about for that to be; while he wasn’t a fan of dressing up, he always managed to pull off a costume that made him look good so that could have been part of it. The ratification of New Rhaegar’s nationalization was days away at best, meaning that he would be king soon enough, which could excite most people.

Truth was, there were also things that should have been bothering him – namely Xavier. Ever since his surprise reveal and attack, the former king had gone to ground, completely disappearing from the public eye. Usually Vandrad would be one to swear vengeance against anyone that would dare lift a hand at him but he was more curious than anything else in this regard. For one, Xavier had reached out to Mercury, to talk to her and gauge her idea of how talking to him would work out. Xavier and Vandrad hadn’t parted on the best of terms, which the future king believing he had watched the former God-King fall to his death. His appeal to the Silver Wolf Ace, to want to make things right, had seemed genuine enough to convince her. If he was lying, he had proven himself more adept than most others; even without Mythal’s ability to pick up on lies, she was still remarkable good at perceiving heightened emotions and physical attributes that would show one was lying.

There was also the fact that Xavier had paraded around as Trevor Winters, a man born on Earthland and who had become involved with Saffron. In most situations, Vandrad would had assumed he had done so under the guise of learning more about Vandrad; after all, the blonde was his pupil and no doubt she had discussed him and his family a few times, if only about surface level information. But as far as she could tell, she had never given out anything that would have betrayed them and Xavier had never gone out of his way to ask. And the look he had given Saffron when she’d seen him beneath his mask… there was no denying the pain, shock and horror that had ripped through him. Vandrad had sensed it, even in his paralyzed state. It had widened the puzzle into a larger hole with even more potential pieces fitting in but without a real answer.

But that was the last thing on his mind; the fact that Mercury was pregnant had settled itself as more important than anything else. It had been somewhat of a surprise, given her ability to halt anything like that happening. It seemed she had reached a point of being ready to start a family with him and he was ecstatic. He was forced to keep it down for the sake of allowing an acceptable amount of time to pass, as well as giving Mercury the opportunity to truly surprise as many people as possible. She did enjoy wielding shocking information and seeing how many people she could hit with it. And it seemed she had decided that their time out with everyone, celebrating the spooky season, was the best time to unveil it, at least to the particular group they would be going out with.

Magnolia was always excited to throw up decorations for holidays and All Hallow’s was no different. The streets were lined with booths and enchanted to play chortling, eerie sounds. Vandrad found himself dressed as a vampire; a tight, crimson vest over a puffed up white shirt. A cape/cloak had been thrown over his shoulders, deep teal on top and a bright purple beneath as it fluttered behind him with each step. The only thing he’d refused to wear were the fake fangs, wanting no part in being uncomfortable with those.

He watched alongside Mercury as Serilda brought his nieces up to participate in the costume contest, amused at the bubbly exuberance of the two girls. Their attention was pulled away for a moment as a wandering attendant came up and offered potions, the like of which he recognized immediately. “I’m good,” he said, waving off the drinks much like Mercury.

“Not feeling adventurous, are we?” Cedric retorted as he slid up beside Saffron and snagged a drink for himself. Unlike Vandrad, who had gone for a more low-key costume, the former Dread Master had gone out there; wearing a fake, royal guard uniform adorned with all the decorative parts. But there was an emblem of a white bunny over his breast and he put on a pair of bunny ears that stuck out ridiculously from his hair.

Vandrad rolled his eyes at the comment, even as Saffron remarked about possibly becoming a man again. Cedric tapped his glass against hers and then downed his drink along with her, smacking his lips slightly at the taste. She commented about her’s being a dud and then turned her gaze to Bandit and shot him an retorting insult, answering his squawk as if she could understand it. It was only then that it dawned on her that she could talk to animals. Cedric smirked and opened his mouth, his lips beginning to move… only for no sound to come out.

His brow furrowed and kept his mouth moving, with nothing still coming out. Vandrad’s lips pulled into a smirking grin as he looked over at the magically muted Cedric. “Oh, this isn’t All Hallow’s at all. It must be a Christmas miracle. Saved from that insufferable voice,” he said, mocking Cedric as he walked over and gave the man a pat on the cheek. “Cedric, if you’d like us to leave this alone and not mock you, just say the word.”

Cedric frowned and glowered a bit at Vandrad. “This is going to be fun,” the future king commented as Mythal, Serilda and the girls came bounding over after their moment to shine in the costume contest. Mercury chuckled and idly commented about them gaining experience that they could pass on the next year to their cousin. There was a moment of amused silence, people chuckling at the innocence of the children before the words that had come out began to churn. And then the two future rulers got to watch as each member of the collected group realized the true weight of what she had admitted.

Vandrad smiled, a genuine, warm look as he wrapped his arm around Mercury’s side and held her close. Cedric, robbed of his ability to proclaim his excitement, could only reach over and pat the future king on the shoulder and give him a thumb’s up, which was the mildest motion any of them would give.

Vandrad wasn’t going to try and hide his happiness at that moment. Usually he would try and play it down but there simply was no point; he was overjoyed and proud to finally be on the path to becoming a father. It was something that he and Mercury had discussed in small bouts, talking about some point in the future. She’d already gotten her fill of his surprise, as she hadn’t warned him of her altering her functions and allowing the possibility. There had been a lot of issues that had prevented them from landing on a preferable time frame but it seemed she had finally felt safe and comfortable enough to let nature run its course.

Everyone had to take a moment to catch up with Mercury’s lowkey reveal but once they had, they were all surprised. Serilda almost threw herself over Mercury, hugging the Xocili tight before moving over to hug him. Mythal was a bit more muted, though he did tease the future king over the fact that he’d made the leap to fatherhood. "It wasn’t exactly a manual choice of mine… but I’m happy myself,” he said, flashing a smirk. He turned his attention to Saffron, who gave him a punch on the shoulder and insisted that if they had a girl, her name was quite fitting. "Yes because the first thing I need is something else for you to gloat over,” he said with a playful scoff.

The blonde continued, stating that his mother was going to lose her mind when they told her. Themesycia did have a penchant for throwing lavish parties for any occasion and the revelation that she was going to be a grandmother was on par, if not greater, than his engagement. "I imagine it will be every insufferable party I’ve ever attended wrapped up into one loud, overdone extravaganza,” he said with a small sigh. But there was little doubt that with Mercury and their future child being the center of attention, he would be able to put up with the overabundance of celebratory functions and decorations.

Mythal and Naomi had wandered over to look at one of the event’s booths as Mercury explained how far along she was and the fact that it would push back the wedding. That wasn’t going to bother him one way or another, the only real benefit of being married was that Mercury would officially be named Queen. Otherwise, it wasn’t going to change much else in their lives. Naomi, the ever curious child, pointed to another area nearby, where dozens of people were dancing. Mythal explained that it was a dance contest and asked if she wanted to go try it out.

To everyone’s surprise, she did -- but not with the Director. She pointed right at Vandrad and stated, quite firmly, that she wanted him to dance, most likely with her as a partner. "Oh… uh…” he started, wanting to decline as politely as possible. But perhaps it was his good mood that caused him to pause, pondering for a moment before he smirked. "Alright. If that’s what you wish,” he said, walking over to scoop the dark-haired girl out of Mythal’s arms.

Cedric was grinning as he watched Vandrad walk over with Naomi in his arms. But his role as spectator was robbed of him a moment later as, inspired by her sister’s curiosity, Alexia spoke up and stated she wanted to join, pointing right at the former Dread Master as her partner. Unlike Vandrad, who had a moment of considering declining, Cedric was all too happy to fulfill the girl’s wishes. He scooped up the other twin and elegantly began to dance over to the floor, where Vandrad had already begun to box step with Naomi. The giggling and loud, excited exclamations from both girls was enough to draw the attention of the other dancers around, as well as the attendants. Soon the two men and the two girls were the only pairs left dancing, as everyone else had stopped to watch in awe of the adorable display.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when they were announced as joint winners, handing some extra candy for the girls and the participation tickets. Mythal was grinning from ear to ear when they came back over, waving his iLac around that was filled with dozens of photos of Cedric and Vandrad in various positions of the dance. While the girls showed off the ‘special’ candy they had won to everyone gathered around, Vandrad stepped back to stand beside Mercury, trying to hide the slight blush on his cheeks. "Who am I to tell my nieces no?” he said with a shrug.

Cedric laughed, or rather made the motion of laughing without any noise. He gave the future king a few pats on the shoulder, ignoring the eye rolls and his attempts to roll his shoulder away from the hits. "Alright, alright, enough,” Vandrad insisted, pushing Cedric’s hand away. "Let’s keep going. Standing around and interrupting the flow of the street…”