Cameron To Candy

By the time their names were called, Candy had watched a stonehorn turtle defeat a knight, a family of curtsey cranes perform a surprisingly coordinated dance, a mad god get slain with the legendary magic paddle Vajraspank. Not to mention two boys dressed as boo-bees who had yelled 'boo!' at the audience for nearly three minutes, then chased each other off the stage, mostly backwards, as they waggled the costume stinger on their butts at each other. The contest seemed to reward enthusiasm as much as craftsmanship. Candy supposed that was good, for the young ones at least. Vivian had been studying the audience throughout, taking note of which jokes received the strongest reaction and which contestants had stayed too long after exhausting their one good idea.

“We should keep ours short,” Alyssa said as they waited beside the stage. “The instructions were no more than three minutes or we will get docked points.”

“Three minutes is barely enough time to establish my character,” Vivian replied.

“Your character screams.”

“She has hidden depths.”

Candy adjusted the edge of her veil. “If your hidden depths take longer than three minutes we’ll get penalized.”

The stage had been decorated to resemble the clearing from the familiar tale. There were groups of Gloamwell witches every year, so most big contests had at least some props and scenery for them. Painted trees stood along the back, their branches bent into grasping fingers, while blue projection crystals cast a cold imitation of moonlight across the boards. An iron basin sat at the center of the clearing. Thin lines of enchantment had been painted around its rim so that it could produce pale, ghostly figures when activated, plus the ever present obligatory mist flowing from it.

Vivian had registered their performance as The Three Witches Gather Their Souls. They needed to act out a brief scene from the legend, ending with the witches being defeated by Captain Frosthall. Since they didn’t have a fourth member dressed as Frosthall, the organizers had provided a projected version that could be summoned at the appropriate moment.

A contest attendant hurried over and handed Alyssa a small activation crystal. “Tap the basin when the Veiled Witch calls for the captured souls. That will release three spirit images. After the Wailing Witch’s scream, tap it again and Frosthall will appear.”

“Three spirits, scream, Frosthall,” Alyssa repeated.

“Exactly. Please don’t strike the basin too hard. The last group cracked it a little.”

Candy noticed a dark cloth draped around its base was a bit off. She reached down to straighten it but as her finger neared the iron, a sharp red spark leapt between her skin and the rim. She pulled her hand back. At the same moment, a faint red light pulsed through her eyes.

The attendant stared at the basin. “Did you activate it?”

“No,” Candy said.

Alyssa examined the crystal in her hand. “Neither did I.”

The lines around the basin had gone dark again. The attendant crouched to inspect them, then shrugged. “Probably a little leftover charge. It should be fine.”

“Should be fine. I’m hearing that too much tonight,” Candy muttered.

Before Alyssa could investigate further, the announcer stepped to the front of the stage and raised both hands.

“From the darkest pages of history, we bring you the three wicked women who sought to steal the souls of innocent children. Beware Mabrina the Briar Witch, Avelora the Wailing Witch, and their cruel mistress, Valeria the Veiled Witch!”

The crowd applauded as Alyssa walked onto the stage. She swept one arm outward, and thorny vines enchanted into her sleeves unfurled around her wrists. Vivian followed with her pale hair loose around her shoulders and her costume’s torn layers drifting behind her. She released a short, mournful cry that caused several children near the front to squeal happily.

Candy entered last. She had been worried that the long skirt would catch beneath her shoes or that she would forget the ridiculous words Vivian had written for her. Instead, the moment she stepped beneath the blue light, the audience reacted more strongly than they had for either of the others. The red eyes and black markings transformed her face, while the cut of the costume left her midriff visible above the low belt of her skirt. The veil trailed behind her as she approached the basin.

A few people called Valeria’s name. Candy raised her chin and gave them the coldest look she could manage. Vivian had instructed her to imagine that everyone in the crowd had asked whether Marcus gave her permission to wear the outfit. It worked remarkably well.

“The children sleep,” Alyssa declared. “The briars hold them fast.”

“Their mothers weep,” Vivian said, circling the basin. “Their fathers beg, but no mortal prayer can reach them.”

Candy extended both hands toward the iron basin. “Then call their spirits from their bodies. Before this night is over, their souls shall belong to me… er, us,” she added with comedic timing, evoking a small murmur of laughter from the crowd.

Alyssa tapped the activation crystal against the basin. Three pale figures rose from it, each shaped like a small child. They circled above the stage while Candy moved her hands as though controlling them. The effect drew an appreciative murmur from the crowd.

Vivian released her full wail. It was much louder than they had practiced and continued long enough that Candy began to suspect her concern about three minutes had been justified. Alyssa tapped the basin a second time.

Captain Harlan Frosthall appeared in a column of white light at the edge of the stage. He wore shining armor and carried an enormous sword. His recorded voice rang out across the square.

“Release the innocent, foul witches, or face the judgment of a righteous man!”

Alyssa threw up both hands. The vines around her wrists recoiled as though frightened. Vivian staggered away from Frosthall, clutching her throat. Candy stepped in front of the basin and prepared to deliver Valeria’s defiant final line.

The iron basin gave a violent shudder. Instead of three spirits, dozens burst from it. Pale figures poured into the air above the stage, some shaped like children, some like adults, and several like nothing human at all. They streamed through the painted trees, passed through Frosthall’s body, and swept over the audience. One enormous face opened its mouth above the stage before dissolving into a cloud of smaller spirits.

Candy stared at the basin. “That isn’t supposed to happen!” she whispered to the others.

Fortunately, the audience could not hear her over the gasps and cheers. Frosthall’s projection began swinging his sword at random. Every strike divided one spirit into three more. Alyssa tapped the activation crystal against the basin, but this only changed Frosthall’s armor from silver to bright pink.

“That REALLY isn’t supposed to happen!” Candy hissed.

Vivian caught Candy’s eye. For once, she appeared to have no idea what to do. Candy felt another stab of pressure behind her eyes. The red light within them flickered, brighter than it had earlier. Heat spread across her face as the cosmetic spell fought to hold itself in place.

“Keep going,” Alyssa whispered.

Vivian recovered first. She threw out her arms and wailed at the circling spirits as though she had deliberately summoned all of them. Alyssa swept her sleeves upward, directing her enchanted briars toward Frosthall’s pink projection. Candy turned to face the audience and raised both hands over the basin.

The pressure behind her eyes intensified. Red light flooded her vision, and the entire stage disappeared behind a crimson glare. She heard several people in the crowd cry out.Then the spell burned out, or perhaps more accurately was burned out of her body.

A brilliant red flash erupted from Candy’s eyes, illuminating the painted clearing and every spirit above it. The light spread through the projections, turning them scarlet before they burst apart in a shower of harmless sparks. Frosthall had swung his sword at precisely the same moment. To anyone watching, it appeared that his final strike had torn the power from Valeria and destroyed her hold on the stolen souls.

Candy stumbled backward in genuine surprise. The audience gasped; Marcus leapt to his feet, stifling the urge to call out her name. Alyssa caught Candy’s arm, turned the movement into a dramatic spin, and sent her falling against Vivian. Vivian gave a final cry and collapsed beside her. Candy understood what they were doing and let herself sink between them, one arm draped over the edge of the basin.

Marcus lingered a moment then sat back down as the stage went dark. For one uncertain second, none of them moved. Then the square erupted in applause. Several children were jumping and trying to catch the last fading sparks. A little girl near the front remained half-hidden behind her father’s coat, staring at Candy with wide eyes.

“Is Valeria really dead?” she asked.

“She was never really here,” her father assured her. “It was only a costume.”

The girl thought about that, then called toward the stage, “Do the eyes again!”

Candy remained on the floor while the cheering continued. Her eyes no longer hurt, although faint red spots floated across her vision. Vivian lay beside her, breathing hard from the screaming, while Alyssa kept one hand firmly around the useless activation crystal.

“Did we win?” Vivian whispered.

“We nearly set Candy’s eyes on fire!” Alyssa whispered back.

“That wasn’t my question.”

The blue lights returned. All three women rose and bowed, doing their best to look as though every part of the performance had gone according to plan. The announcer congratulated them on an unexpectedly ambitious interpretation of the legend. Candy smiled and resisted the urge to examine her eyes until they were safely off the stage.

“They’re green again,” Alyssa told her as soon as they reached the waiting area.

“Good. So, they're still attached?”

“Yeah.”

Vivian leaned closer to inspect them. “That flash was incredible.”

“It blinded me!”

“Only briefly.”

Alyssa folded her arms. “You’re never casting another spell on anyone’s eyes agin.”

Once the final entrants had performed, the announcer called everyone back onto the stage. The contestants crowded together beneath the projection lights while the judges conferred at a table below. Candy stood between Alyssa and Vivian, watching the judges pass their scorecards back and forth. Vivian was attempting to look confident, although she kept smoothing the front of her costume.

The announcer finally received the results and stepped forward.

“Third place goes to the brave knight and his remarkably convincing stonehorn turtle!”

The knight raised both arms while the stonehorn turtle bumped into his side, nearly knocking him over. The audience applauded as they came forward to receive the 3rd place prize.

“Second place goes to the Curtsey Crane family!”

The family bowed in perfect unison. Their youngest crane became excited and bowed three more times before being guided back into line. The crowd gently laughed. The announcer waited for the applause to subside before lifting the final card.

“And first place, for a performance that, ahem, raised our spirits more than anyone expected, goes to Mabrina the Briar Witch, Avelora the Wailing Witch, and Valeria the Veiled Witch!”

Vivian shrieked and threw her arms around both of them. Candy was nearly pulled off balance, while Alyssa struggled to keep her thorned sleeves from becoming tangled in Vivian’s veil.

They stepped forward together to receive the three silver costume pins, a ribbon declaring them the finest mockery of evil on Mock Night, and a basket of festival sweets large enough that Marcus had to carry it. The little girl near the front retreated behind her father again when Candy approached the edge of the stage, but she peeked around him long enough to wave.

Candy gave her a small wave in return. The girl smiled, apparently deciding that Valeria the Veiled Witch was less frightening with green eyes. Vivian accepted the victory as confirmation of her theatrical instincts. Alyssa maintained that they had won because the equipment had malfunctioned in a way that worked out. Candy was mostly just relieved that she could see properly again.

The ladies piled into the small carriage Marcus had driven downtown in. The ride was slow, not just because of the throngs of people moving about, but also because old Hearthwind was just one horse pulling a small carriage and four people. Marcus had been considering buying another horse for these situations. Hearthwind wasn’t getting any younger. Still, despite the slow speed, the bumps along the cobbled lanes made the six exposed breasts bounce and jiggle as they went.

Marcus drove Alyssa home first. She climbed down with her share of the sweets and reminded Vivian she wasn’t allowed to do cosmetic magic anymore. Vivian promised nothing.

They left Vivian at her family’s house next. She kissed Candy on the cheek, congratulated her on an excellent death scene, and informed Marcus that his wife had been the most convincing wicked temptress in Paddlewick Prime.

“Well, she’s practiced the wicked part all year,” Marcus responded. Candy shoved the basket into his arms before following him back to the carriage.

It was late when they reached the house. They'd discussed what had happened on the way, and agreed she'd need to see Mage Eldrin tomorrow. Marcus carried the costume case downstairs while Candy went to their bedroom and began removing the layers of Valeria the Veiled Witch. She set the hood and veil aside, unfastened the belt, and carefully pulled the dark costume over her head.

Her ordinary nightclothes waited on the bed. Before putting them on, she stopped in front of the mirror and sighed. It had been a Great night. Fun, social, and they’d had a win and yet…

Her altered red eyes and black markings were gone, but the rest remained. The narrow waist, rounded hips, giant breasts, and long red hair didn’t go away with the costume. Tomorrow, Vivian would be Vivian again rather than a wailing witch. Alyssa would put away her briars and return to the tattoo guild. Every person who had filled the streets that night would remove a mask, wash away some paint, or step out of temporarily allowed clothes.

Candy looked at the discarded costume reflected behind her, then back at her outrageously curvy, feminized body in the mirror and sighed. Everyone else gets to take their costumes off tonight, she thought. I’m the only one permanently stuck in mine.