While there were only a few days between the tea party-turned-madhouse and Samhain, it felt like I just blinked and Sunday was gone. Monday came at an earlier than usual two in the afternoon with a rapping at the door. I was hazily waking up when I felt Val throw a book at me, moaning about things waking her up and telling me to get the door. Talk about not a morning person… well, afternoon… but you know what I’m saying.

I stumbled over to the door and opened it just enough to see who was on the other side. I nearly wet myself as I was greeted by a greyish-purple headless woman, a Chinese dragon-girl, an orc, and what I had to assume was a kappa. I caught myself before I soiled the floor by closing the door and steadying myself on the wall. I took a breath and focused like Val had told me, I then also took a second to prepare myself for the moment I screwed up and didn’t focus right… because that’s definitely not out of the question.

I cracked the door again and found myself nose to nose with a severed head. It was the same purple-grey as the body holding it up, and the pupil-less eyes staring back at me were a deep silver color. It was as I took in these details that I felt a little bit of warmth on my inner thigh. Not a proud moment, but when you’ve just had a severed head shoved in your face after being greeted by a crew of monsters you had all but assumed were tales of fiction while still waking up, I defy you not to slightly wet yourself!

“Ms. Sidhe, are you unwell?” The head spoke in Fianna’s calm and formal voice.

Then it dawned on me, it was Halloween… or Samhain as the school preferred. Which means…

“Oh… Hi. No, I just need a minute. What… what can I do for you today?” I asked meekly, trying to pretend that I didn’t just wet myself because my girlfriend and her groupies showed up at my door when I was mostly asleep.

“Well, we came to first deliver you and Ms. Dalca’s earrings for the festivities. I also thought this might be a decent time to introduce you to some of the actual members of the disciplinary committee and start your training as my replacement. Is this not a good time?” Fianna said, sounding suspicious.

“Uh….” I said, my mind blanking. I then did something very stupid; I grabbed Fianna’s head, brought it in the room, and slammed the door shut. Lauren, you really need to work on your panicked reactions.

“Lauren! What is the-“ Fianna started in before I clapped my hand over her mouth.

“Fianna, I need you to give me a heads up when you plan to do things like this so I don’t end up in the unfortunate situation I currently find myself in.” I hissed, not so much in anger as much as to avoid waking Val.

I felt her mouth move under my hand, which made me realize my hand was still over her mouth. So I removed my hand but made certain Fianna knew to speak quietly.

“Lauren, you smell like…” She began.

“Please don’t. Whatever I smell like is your fault. You brought a brigade of monsters to my door while I was sleeping without warning.” I cut her off.

“Monster is a very harsh word, Lauren. These girls are just as human as you are.” Fianna said disappointedly, and I could imagine her body doing the whole hand on her hip behind the door.

“Look, I need to get cleaned up before I meet anyone. I am not meeting anyone before a shower.” I muttered to her.

She sighed and then responded, “Look, I’ll take the others around to deliver earrings to the other students and meet you in the café in 20 minutes. Also, I saw your first class of the day is cancelled, so I do expect you to join myself and the others for some time.”

I nodded vigorously and was about to open the door to restore her head to her body whan she opened her mouth again.

“Ms. Dalca, I do expect you to stay in one form this year instead of the shifting you did last year. I’d your playmate wants to come out, you make that decision before you exit your room. There will be no leniency this year.”

I cracked the door after a muffled response that I assumed was an affirmative came from Val, and I traded Fianna’s body her head for the earrings. She turned and addressed the others as I closed the door.

I moved toward the counter in our kitchenette area and set the earrings down. I then made a bee-line for the bathroom and, well, you get the idea. Things needed to be addressed, and I needed a deep scrub after such an embarrassing display. Way to go Lauren, you definitely left an impression on the girls you’re supposed to be wowing.

I took about ten minutes to get myself squeaky clean and then put on my uniform. I almost forgot to throw on my earrings for today’s events, but I caught the glint of them as I was about to rush out the door. Slapping them on, my skin immediately turned an almost periwinkle color and then became a bit more purple before settling down. Eventually I was the same color as I was Saturday, which is to say I was the same shade as Fianna. Why match costumes when you can match freaky skin condition?

I ended up running toward the café at a full sprint, almost knocking over a kobold girl and her slime friend. When I got there I had to stretch myself to locate Fianna and Co. in a room packed with creatures of myth and legend. I finally found her off on the terrace, a tea pot before her and her entourage completed the look of “monster girl tea party” that I assumed was the look they were after.

“Sorry I’m a little late.” I called out as I approached.

“Ah, the head snatcher joins the party! Now we’re talking!” The dragon girl said, he face splitting into a toothy grin.

“Don’t tease the poor dear, it’s her first Samhain at Avalon. She likely needed a moment to adjust.” The kappa reprimanded.

The orc girl gently got up and pulled out a seat for me, her fierce features almost at odds with her rather docile behaviour. She sat down after seating me and extended her hand for introduction.

“I’m Lillian Faire, Fianna’s second in command… well, third I guess, if you’re training to replace her. It’ll be nice, not having to fill in for our lovely head girl.” The orc, Lillian, said.

The kappa girl turned and extended her hand too, “I am Ame Ikesugi. In kanji my given name is the character for rain, and I bet you can guess why.”

“And I am Mu Lin Long. I won’t bore you with the spelling, just remember I’m the dragon of the fine jade trees.” The dragon girl chimed in.

Fianna cleared her throat after everyone was introduced. She topped of everyone’s cups of tea and waited for each girl to do what she felt necessary to make the tea palatable for themselves. Then she smiled and looked at each of us in turn.

“Now that you have all gotten acquainted with one another, I feel it is as right a moment as any to ask; are there any here who object to my nomination of Lauren Sidhe as my successor come the end of my term as head girl?” She spoke quietly but confidently, almost as if she knew the outcome before she ever opened her mouth.

“Not I. It’s a relief knowing I am not going to have to be the focus of the students when you depart.” Lillian spoke up quietly before taking a long sip of her tea. It was actually impressive how she could drink with her tusks on her lower jaw. If anything, the two bones jutting from her mouth made her deep green skin tone and deeper green lips look… delicate? Her dark brown hair was kept in an elegant ponytail, and her frame was smaller than expected for an orc, so I guess the word delicate could apply.

“Like you believed there would be any kind of resistance! The girl’s got character, and snatching your head from your hands? I’d have been less shocked had she just wet herself in front of all of us. Her unexpected actions will be a welcome addition to the school’s leadership.” Mu Lin all but cheered.

Ame giggled a bit before answering, “I’m inclined to agree with Mu Lin here, you knew there would be no possible resistance to your nomination. Still, the politeness of asking is appreciated. I too feel she will be a welcome addition to the team, and look forward to assisting her as best I am able.”

I glanced at Fianna, her face breaking into a wide grin. “I’m glad that we’ve settled that. With the three leads of the disciplinary committee, and Ms. Weber’s own endorsement, I am proud to say that Lauren Sidhe is next in line to become a Head Girl at Avalon Girl’s Academy. From troubled pasts, so do we forge greatness.”

The girls all clapped politely. Fianna waited for the clapping to die down before continuing.

“As Lauren will be taking over for me, I have opted to begin training immediately. So, I should like to go ahead and ask who desires first crack at showing my protégé how we uphold the rules here in our floating gardens?” Fianna opened the conversation to the others.

“I’ll be only too happy to take that offer.” Mu Lin chimed in.

Lillian and Ame smiled at that; it was that kind of smile you see when people are trading an inside joke. I was both intrigued and frightened about what would come next.

“If there are no complaints, I shall have Lauren follow Mu Lin for the next hour and a half. After that, Lauren, it would be wonderful of you to join me in the tumbling room. We will need to work on your self-defence skills, and I will see to that personally. Ame, Lillian, I will message you each for days Lauren may shadow you and coordinate that across your schedules. Are there any questions or concerns I should be aware of?” Fianna asked, addressing each of us in turn.

Nobody made any move to complain or ask questions, but Lillian did turn toward Mu Lin and smiled. “Don’t break the poor girl, I’m actually eager to see how this plays out. She’s not a toy, so no playing rough.”

Mu Lin gave her one of those Cheshire cat smiles, “Who me? I would never think to hurt such a delicate and important member of our team. Besides, she’ll need all of her wits and energy for Fianna’s training session.”

That made me very concerned for a moment, and it didn’t help that I caught Ame rubbing her arm and grimacing when Mu Lin said it.

This cannot end well.