The wind blew across the land of Pumpkin City situated in the southern western corners of Satiation Kingdom. Bright orange gourd sun peeking behind the waxy candy corn clouds, people were organizing, candy was getting stuffed into baskets. It had been yet another spooktacular day for the citizens that resided within the city state. But, the gales of fun would soon bring about a hurricane.
Owls hooting up a storm, a short, tan female demon that stood at about one hundred sixty seven centimeters rose from her bed chamber. Short magenta hair with bright orange tips at the bottom barely reaching below her ears, her short green horns looked like that of a pumpkin stem. Bright, glowing eyes half orange and half pink, her eyelashes matched her locks almost exactly. Feety pumpkin pajamas almost way too big for her, her spiky dark green dragon tail stung as she made her bed up nicely. Oh, great unripe pumpkin, she slept on her tail again.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Miss Spook Lord Fawn, are you awake?" a voice called out from the other side of the door. "I have your clothes ready, and your wand." The pounds kept on going for minutes on end. "We have to hurry and get you ready today. We have discovered something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible."
Hearing a loud pounding on her door, Spook Lord Fawn's hair stuck up like an antenna on one of those newly fangled televisions. Oh, dear, what could possibly be going wrong? Today is the Ultimate Scare Festival, the biggest festival of the entire year. She can't have any dark omens befalling her people on a day like today!
"Coming," Spook Lord Fawn said, turning the doorknob slowly. "It can't be that bad, right? You younger demons are always worrying about everything!"
Standing at the door had been a short young masculine rabbit demon with bunny ears colored like candy corn. Long hair pulled into a low ponytail that looked like a big piece of candy corn as well, his locks had been white, yellow and orange. Eyes a citrusy color as well, his pupils were sparkly. Dark yellow skin waxy like the chicken feed they were called back in her day, his dark orange suit adorned four pieces of candy corn with rabbit ears on top of them. Sighing, she couldn't help but feel envious. Candy Corn Hare, what a spry young demon man he was.
"I know you say often us in the younger generation of demons here worry about everything and stuff, but milord, being too laid back also isn't a good thing," Candy Corn Hare said. "But, that's neither here nor there, let's get you dressed, aight? Candy Apple Woofer will do your tail."
Guided towards the washroom, Spook Lord Fawn bit her lower lip. The younger generation sure adored their slang and shortening their words into lingo. Back in her youth, that would have been the unthinkable. If her parents had heard how the younger generation spoke, they'd be kicking in the holes they buried themselves in right about now.
Reaching a large room with a pumpkin sticker permanently glued onto it, dark orange walls had soon looked ready to peel off like a dragon molting away in the silence of the mountains far away in isolation of everyone else. Maybe it was time to hire someone to redo her private washing quarters. But, who had time for that? She had a city state to run for crying out loud!
"Pumpkin Lord Fawn," a timid voice said from the door. "Um, I'm here. I will brush your tail for you, but we need to hurry. We have to talk about something."
Standing by the door frame had been a short dark skinned demon with light brown bangs that vibrantly faded into a light pinkish red, the color of wine. Two toned locks reaching his chin, on the top of his head had been jackal ears. Pink suit with candy apples on it having the same ears as his own head, behind him had been a light crimson tail in the shape of a candy apple with a straw. She remembered when Candy Apple Woofer had been left on her doorstep about five hundred years ago as a little impling, how the times have changed, they grow up so fast.
"I know, dearie. Don't worry, you youngin' are a lot faster than me," Spook Lord Fawn said, but then a sense of doom flowed through her. "You're not replacing me, are you?"
"Um, no," Candy Apple Woofer said. "Why would we be?" As he said such, he spun the tail brush around. "Um, anyway, I'll brush your tail now, okay?"
Bristles pressing downward rather hard, Spook Lord Fawn grit her teeth. These new fangled tail brushes, what were they making them out of these days? Whatever materials they were being created with, they sure weren't thinking about the interest of the fellow old demons here! Unbelievable. She needed to be stricter with the changes to so many things around her.
Tail behind her ready for action, the bright orange portion of her hair had soon been tied upwards into high bunned ponytails. Pumpkin barrette handed to her with a goofy face on it, she had soon been placed into a bright orange dress with a belted collar and three little pumpkins with silly expressions on the skirt. Sleeping pumpkin wand handed to her, she slapped the magic tool on the table. Alas, yet again, her magic sleeps. Ah well, maybe she was getting too old to use spells anyway.
"Ah, no, we have to hurry," Candy Corn Hare said in a frantic turn. "Spider Cracker Birdo said we have to be in the meeting room asap! Like, right now, asap!"
"Um, Chocolate Elf Archduke too," Candy Apple Woofer said, voice shaking. "If we're late, he's going to blow like a chocolate lava cake volcano!"
Young spry dog mentioning a food from another kingdom, Spook Lord Fawn could not help but feel annoyed. Ah, yes, Pitaya Land, that foolish kingdom run by an irresponsible youthful dragon who was pretty close to running their kingdom to the ground. Who thought it was a good idea to build a kingdom right next to a volcano? Well, they would learn the hard way when something happens, not her problem!
Reaching the meeting room, a tall, tan male demon with spiky light brown hair that had been darker towards his ears, he had the strangest of outfits. Plain light brown shirt having two circular salted crackers with stick pretzels stuck into them, he had pretzel sticks for bird wings, and three fingered hands that were hard baked crackers as well, the lord sighed of nostalgia. She remembered it like it was yesterday when this young demon had somehow, some way, turned himself into a pretzel. He sure adored that food didn't he? No wonder he changed his name to Spider Cracker Birdo.
Tapping his foot upon the ground had been a light brown skinned demon with light blond hair that had faded into brown braided side burns. Brown eyes like everyone all the other men in her mansion, his fiery eyelashes were almost ready to fall off and burn. Or, were they? She never knew with these youths. Light lavender sweater with green buttons in the middle, it had been decorated with words aplenty. Candy, choco, nuts. Chocolate with wings and a crown in the empty spaces, he had a strange tail shaped like a bar of choco as well. Chocolate Elf Archduke, impatient as always.
"You're thirty seconds late!" Chocolate Elf Archduke screeched. "Oh my unripe pumpkin, how many times do I have to tell you lot to be to our meetings early!"
"But, like, bro," Spider Cracker Birdo said, whistling. "Gummy Worms Lop isn't here yet."
"You know him! He's always late to everything!" Chocolate Elf Archduke cried. "Always the same excuse, 'sorry, my parasitic gummy worm disease acting up again.' Ugh! Doesn't he know how made up that disease sounds?" He then turned towards the lord. "Milord, it's time we fire him. Why did you hire this guy?"
Questioning of past hiring coming her way, the Spook Lord Fawn could feel sweet memories flow in. Ah, yes, she remembered the day she hired this demon like it was yesterday. He was a good, resourceful young rabbit at the time. But, then the gummy worms attacked. Or something. She never knew if that was true. Maybe he was making it all up for attention. He was a rather quiet fellow when it came to talking about himself.
But, she knew despite all that, he was still a hard worker. Just plagued by his own inner problems. Why fire him now? That'd be like throwing a puppy out on the street, she couldn't do that! This elf sure lived up to the archduke moniker in his name. What a bossy little thing he was. Sometimes she wondered if he was like this for fun.
"Dearie, he just wants attention," Spook Lord Fawn said. "He'll give up when he's bored."
"Give up what when I'm bored?" A voice from behind her asked.
Turning around, a short feminine appearing rabbit demon with sickly yellow skin had his arms crossed around his waist. Black hair that had been yellow on the left side, he had a low bun that had also been half black, half yellow as well. Adorning a light brown shirt with a folded down collar, there had been gummy worms everywhere from his hips to his clothes with rabbit ears. Small skirt beneath him, the lord jumped back a bit.
"Nothing, dearie!" Pumpkin Lord Fawn cried. "Please don't sneak up behind me like that, Gummy Worms Lop, I can't feel presences behind me quite like I used to!"
"Whatever," Gummy Worms Lop said in a defiant tone. He then turned towards Chocolate Elf Archduke. "What's this about firing me, huh? Don't forget the walls have ears."
"Then, you should know why I want you gone!" Chocolate Elf Archduke cried. "Ugh, you're insufferable. I already know what you're going to say. 'Sorry, my gummy worms disease is acting up again.' It didn't work the last billion times you said it either!"
"Bro, he said it like only twenty times," Spider Cracker Birdo said. sighing. "Get your facts straight."
"Um, can we please just get on with the meeting?" Candy Apple Woofer asked. "We don't have much time."
"If you weren't thirty seconds late, we'd have started already!" The Archduke waved his fists in the air as he said such.
"Are you a young demon, or an old demon?" Candy Corn Hare asked. "I can never tell with you."
Seating herself in the leader chair, Spook Lord Fawn crusted her left leg into her right thigh. Ah, yes, a sudden meeting. This happened every year the day of The Ultimate Scare Festival. This and that wasn't ready. Group A needed more time before it starts. Group B needed a little more time to get ready. It was the same chaos as usual. It was always the same.
But, same it would not be.
"Milord, we have called this meeting to tell you there is a foreign spy discovered from another kingdom," Candy Corn Hare warned. "There's danger in our midst."
Unexpected warning coming her way, the Spook Lord Fawn put her hand beside her ear. Come again, was she hearing that correctly just now? A spy from a foreign kingdom? These youngins were way too cautious! People from the other kingdoms come here all the time. Everyone was welcome here! Even those ragtag ruffians over in Strawberry Kingdom this had to have been some sort of misunderstanding.
"Surely, you must be mistaken!" Spook Lord Fawn cried. "We get visitors from other kingdoms all the time! We're a city state of festivities, for crying out loud!"
But, there had been a moment of silence between everyone. Her team whispering to one another, she couldn't help but feel like the youths had been keeping a big secret from her. Had this quote on quote spy been festering about for awhile now? Oh, boy, oh dear, if so, that wasn't good. Oh, dear her. Did they no longer feel like they could confide in her?
"Um, milord, it's not like that," Candy Apple Woofer said, voice shaking. "We suspect someone has sent a spy from Sweet and Sour Kingdom recently. Um, maybe you're not aware, but Sweet and Sour Kingdom is currently seeking revenge on the top ten kingdoms after Strawberry Kingdom killed their leader."
"And, so far, they've attacked Pitaya Land and Cheese World, too!" Chocolate Elf Archduke cried. "And, they decided to break the rules of Cheese World's kingdom warfare!" He clicked his tongue as he continued. "The nerve! They should know by now how sacred the rules are in Kingdom Warfare."
"Bro, you know they ain't care none 'bout the rules," Spider Cracker Birdo said, folding his arms across his waist. "They are a kingdom that abides by none. So, they go to every kingdom they can with lawlessness."
"Meh, we can take them if they challenge us to Kingdom Warfare," Gummy Worms Lop said, head bopping downward. "They're not in the top ten. So, who cares if they send a spy? We can easily eliminate them, can't we?"
A collection of sighs had soon filled the room for a moment. Unsure looks on everyone's faces, Spook Lord Fawn shrugged. They all had to have been mistaken. A spy from Sweet and Sour Kingdom? Come on now. Maybe they had heard wrong. It happens to the best of them all. Spy on what anyway? This was a peaceful festive kingdom. She had built that up for the past two thousand years!
Turning towards her elven high duke youth, she wondered if the Archduke had simply been making up problems that did not exist for the sake of it since nothing had been going on this Ultimate Scare Festival season. Back in her youth, such a thing never happened. Drama for the sake of it? Some demons had too much time on their hands! Rumors were quite the sickness. Get well soon.
"Dearie, they're probably just here for the festivities!" Spook Lord Fawn cried. "I highly doubt they're a spy!" But, a sigh had come her way.
"See? This is why I said we shouldn't even bother telling the lord about this!" Chocolate Elf Archduke cried. "She doesn't believe us!"
"Um, to be fair, it is kind of unbelievable," Candy Apple Woofer said, shaking his head. "We're mostly a peaceful kingdom. Rarely anyone ever attacks us, and when they do, they don't understand our rules and lose. It happens every time."
"And this is why you shouldn't be on this team!" Chocolate Elf Archduke shouted. "Ugh, for the love of everything! Milord, can we please look for the spy? I don't care if you think there isn't one, there is one. We spotted someone peculiar trotting around in the Skull Candy Chasms near the fairgrounds!"
Old canyon mentioned, the Spook Lord Fawn twiddled her little wand. Ah, that old place? Honestly, she thought she had went and sealed off the entrance there a long time ago. Maybe it would be best to do something about it before it was too late. It could have been a young demon who didn't know any better! It didn't have to be a spy! Sure, she'll bite, she'll see what's up, as the youth would say.
"Prepare my pumpkin carriage within an hour," the Spook Lord Fawn demanded.
"You heard milord!" Chocolate Elf Archduke cried. "Hurry up and set up her carriage!" He clapped his hands as he said such. "Chop chop!"
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