Knightmare on Oak Street
Dear the citizen of Anatol, with the approval of Lord and Lady Calypse, the Remdragon Maidens are excited to organise a virtual Halloween event on Oak Street, Anatol.Happy Halloween!
The contributor maidens are:
- Liza @LizzieLoo48
- Ellie @Queencalypse18
- Loi @LoiLoiLoise
- Luna @luna_tickss
- Ari @ratwithredeyes
- Emosh @emosh _sloff
- Alice @AlceAstra
- Mobeen @meinrContact us at [email protected]
All characters belong to the book Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji, originally illustrated by P.
Scary bedtime story
Sssssshhhhhhh~ 🤫
Two bedtime stories below are presented by Maiden Liza and Sir Gabel Lachzion.
A story from Sir Lachzion.
“Halloween Date Night“🎃👻🧡
The sun was nearly set as Maxi tossed a change of clothes into her travel bag. She felt a bit of anxiety about the night ahead, but she tried to push her worries aside so she wouldn’t forget anything… Or perhaps she might accidentally forget something so she and Riftan had a reason to return early from the Halloween party that they were invited to attend at Ricaydo’s residence.“Maxi, are you packed and almost ready to go? Party has already started.” Riftan appeared in the doorway of their master bedroom. He leaned against the doorframe with his hands while briefly looking her up and down.“Yeah, I’m just f-finishing up,” she replied.“Ok. Any word from Sidina?”“She text me when she left, a-about fifteen minutes ago… so maybe another ten before she gets here.”“Alright, I’ll be in the kitchen to finish prepping the baby food.”Maxi expected him to go, but he lingered, watching her pack. Then it came to her attention that their daughter wasn’t with him. “What’s Elysia doing?”Riftan’s attention snapped to from her question. “She’s being adorable in her bouncer, diligently watching me prep her food while gnawing on her teether. She’s got drool all down the front of her little costume.”“How is she so cute?” Maxi asked with a chuckle.“That’s a silly question, she clearly gets it from you.”He came into the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind in a hug. Then he gently pecked her on the cheek before leaving her to finish packing.Maxi grabbed the rest of her clothes and toiletries she might need and put them in her bag. They were staying out for just one night so she didn’t need much. After zipping up her bag she decided to go ahead and put on her costume. Maxi took off her T-shirt and sweatpants and removed the white dress from the packaging and slipped it on. It was loose fitting and looked a bit like a nightgown by itself, so she found a wide, black belt that laced up the front to make the dress more flattering.However, it didn’t work like she had hoped. The belt tightened her waist, making her breasts spill out over the top, and what was left of her baby weight poked out at the bottom. She thought someone might actually mistake her for being pregnant again. Maxi let out a disgruntled sigh with the end result; she didn’t have time to change it so she just went with it.After deciding to leave her hair down, she draped the cherry red cape that came with the dress around her shoulders. To finish her costume she put on a brown pair of vintage styled boots and some ruby stud earrings. Lastly she went to the bathroom and applied a little blush, mascara, and just a few dabs of red lipstick to give her lips a bit of color.Maxi stepped in front of a floor length mirror to assess her appearance, overall pleased with herself. She went back into the bedroom and grabbed her bag, then headed to the living room where she tossed it onto the couch next to Riftan’s travel bag. The sound of nursery rhymes playing from the kitchen could be heard, so she went there next.In the kitchen, Riftan was cutting up some fruit at the counter, while Elysia was happily sitting in her bouncer to the side of him. Maxi thought she looked so cute in her little costume. She wore a grey, long sleeved romper made of fleece, with a white patch on the belly and a tiny tail attached to the back. Her hair was adorned with a set of clip-in puppy ears and lavender bows. She was a little wolf cub to match Riftan’s costume.Elysia turned in the swivel seat upon hearing her mother enter the kitchen.“There’s my big girl,” Maxi said to her and reached down to pick her up.Elysia jumped in excitement to see her. The large toy contraption bounced and swayed, the attached toys and accessories jingling and jangling with her frenzied movement. She somehow managed to keep her teether in her mouth despite not holding onto it while she was plucked from her seat.“You like your new pumpkin shaped teether, don’t you?” Maxi playfully tickled her cheek before peppering her with kisses, making her squeal with laughter. She walked over to Riftan at the counter with Elysia on her hip and put a hand at the middle of his back. “What’s on the m-menu for her tonight, big daddy?”Riftan unexpectedly dropped the knife on the cutting board and squeezed his eyes shut. His jaw clenched, like he was in pain of some kind.“Maxi, careful, you can’t call me that when it’s this close to dark out.”“Why not?” she coyly asked.“Put Elysia back in her bouncer and I’ll show you why not.” He turned to face her and continued to playfully warn her, “You call me that again and you might find yourself pregnant next month.”She closed her mouth and pressed her lips into a firm line. Riftan scooped up the fruit he had been cutting and put it in a bowl. Maxi couldn’t help eyeing the movement of his muscles as he worked. The main part of his costume was missing so his bronze, toned arms were on full display with the black tank top he was wearing. He also wore dark-grey washed jeans with rips in them, and black leather boots.It mystified Maxi how he could wear something so simple and be so attractive. Before her thoughts could get out of hand the doorbell fortunately rang.“Th-That must be Sidina.” Maxi quickly turned and left Riftan in the kitchen to go to the front door. She saw Sidina’s beat up beetle car parked out front through the window, so she didn’t bother checking the peephole before opening the door.“Hi Sidina,” Maxi cheerfully greeted her.a“Max! Oh my goodness, look at this adorable wolf cub,” Sidina said with a gasp. She let herself into the house and threw her stuff down on the floor. Then she expectantly held out her hands for Elysia. “Come to auntie Sidina! I swear, she looks bigger each time I see her.”
Maxi obliged in handing her over, Elysia being familiar with Sidina, didn’t mind.“I like the costumes,” Sidina said, looking Maxi over.“Oh thanks,” she replied with a smile.She smoothed out her dress and cape as Riftan walked into the living room. He didn’t bother saying anything to Sidina.“Hey Riftan.”He simply nodded at her and went to pick up his fur jacket off of the couch.“I said hey, Riftan,” Sidina repeated.Riftan indifferently responded, “And I nodded in acknowledgment of your greeting.” Then he put on his jacket and pulled up the hood, two, large wolf ears atop his head now.“Friendly as ever I see,” she mumbled. “By the way, was that Uly and Garrow I saw sitting in a van parked outside?”“Could be.”“What are Uly and Garrow doing here, Riftan?” Maxi asked.“Yeah, what are they doing here? I can take care of the baby just fine.”“You think I have them here to help you babysit?” Riftan scoffed. “They’re here to deal with any
idiots that come out tonight and think it’s a bright idea to mess with my house while my daughter is inside.”“This is like, the safest neighborhood.”“I don’t care, I’m not taking any chances.”
Sidina rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. What’s on the itinerary for this cutie cub?” She pressed her cheek to Elysia’s and gave her a little squeeze.“She nursed a l-little over an hour ago,” Maxi said while Riftan helped her put a light jacket on.“S-So she should be ready in about a half hour for a little oatmeal cereal and then her bottle...There’s freshly pumped milk in the fridge, you know how to prepare it.”“Got it. Will she need a bath?”“She already had one,” Riftan informed her. “Put her in a sleep sack when you give her the bottle and have her in bed by eight. I have the baby-cam linked to my phone, so I’ll know whether or not she’s down yet.”“Maybe she wants to stay up and party on her first Halloween.”Riftan looked down at her with a menacing frown.“Sheesh, calm down, I’m joking,” Sidina remarked while bouncing Elysia on her hip. “What else is there, Max?”“Usually, she wakes up around m-midnight for a feeding, a-and she’ll most likely need a diaper change then too... Make s-sure you do that first, instead of a-after her bottle, or she might wake up…” Maxi felt her anxiety kick up a notch as it was setting in that they were about to leave.“And then she sh-should sleep until morning, usually seven, sometimes a l-little later.”Riftan gathered up their bags as he told her, “There’s fresh bananas and strawberries to be mashed up and go along with her cereal in the morning. That should hold her over until we get back, we’ll be here by nine.”“You guys really think you’ll stay the whole night?”“Umm, I-I don’t know we might not—.”“Unless there’s an emergency we’re staying at Ricaydo’s. You ready to go, Maxi?” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and awaited her response.“… I guess so,” she timidly answered.“Let’s go then.”“Alright, say bye to mama and dada.” Sidina held Elysia out to them and Maxi was the first to grab her. “You two have fun and don’t worry, I got everything under control.”Maxi brushed back Elysia’s thick, black hair and covered her whole face in kisses and hugged her close. “I-If you can, p-please send us some updates.”“Of course, it’s no biggie,” Sidina assured her.Maxi gave Elysia to Riftan after he dropped their bags, so he could say his farewell to her next.He held onto her tightly and gave Sidina the last of his instructions with a serious expression.“Lock the deadbolt, don’t answer the door for anybody, and there’s a sixteen gauge shotgun in the gun safe in our bedroom closet if things get desperate and I’m not here.”“R-Riftan!” Maxi scolded him.He continued, unbothered. “Tuck the stock into your shoulder and make sure your feet are shoulder width apart to handle the recoil.”“Duly noted.” Sidina gave him a double thumbs up, not reassuring him in the slightest.Riftan pressed Elysia’s head to his chest and rest his cheek against her. She playfully burrowed her face in his furry jacket, leaving traces of her drool on it. He held onto her for another moment before giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek, and then he reluctantly handed her back to Sidina. After picking up their bags again, Riftan grabbed Maxi’s hand and ushered her out the door. He waited momentarily once it was closed to ensure that Sidina locked the deadbolt. Once he heard it click into place they bounded down the steps from their home.As they descended the steps they spotted Ulyseon and Garrow sitting inside a white van parked a little ways from Riftan’s truck. Ulyseon also saw them and promptly rolled down his window.“Hey Mrs. C!” Uly shouted with his head stuck out the window and waved at them. “Your costumes look amazing!” As if his ardent greeting wasn’t enough, he hopped out of the van entirely to meet them on the sidewalk as they neared.“Thank you Uly, hi Garrow.” Maxi politely waved to them as well. “I like your, umm… your costumes too.” She eyed their costumes uneasily. They appeared to be the embodiment of a Twister game with Garrow wearing a shirt with a spinner on it, and Ulyseon wearing a white shirt and pants with some of the dots suggestively placed…“Thanks! It was all my idea,” Uly proudly replied. He seemed to be oblivious to his innocent oversight.“Where’s Ruth?” Riftan impatiently asked when he didn’t see him anywhere.“He’s asleep in the back.”Riftan went and aggressively knocked on the side door of the van. “Wake up!”“Ack!” An aggrieved cry was heard from inside before the door slid open. Ruth angrily rubbed his forehead as though he had hit it on something “Was that necessary?!”“No sleeping on the job,” Riftan intoned.“Hi Ruth,” Maxi said, stepping forward. “Sorry you guys have t-to work tonight.”“Oh don’t be sorry Mrs. C, we volunteered!”“You mean the two of you volunteered, I got dragged into this,” Ruth clarified.“Uly you v-volunteered?” Maxi asked. “I thought you were going to another p-party tonight, with your girlfriend?”“Ari doesn’t mind,” Ulyseon adamantly assured her. “She’s got some last minute stuff to work on for a fashion show that’s coming up. I think we’ll go out tomorrow night instead.”“Well, I hope you both have a good time tomorrow then... And hopefully the night will go by quickly, s-so the three of you aren’t so bored.”“Don’t worry about that Mrs. C, we came prepared! We got popcorn and movies, and we’re gonna hand out some candy to any kids that come by.”Ulyseon reached into the van and then presented a large, orange bowl with a jack-o’-lantern face on it filled with candy.“Don’t even think about it,” Riftan told him.Uly’s face fell in dejection. “What? Why not, sir?”“First off, your job is to keep an eye out on our house. Secondly, you’re three guys sitting in a white van handing out candy to kids on Halloween. Now think about that image for a minute, Rovar.”Ulyseon blinked rapidly, not comprehending, then he shut his eyes to draw up the image in his mind. His brow furrowed in concentration for a few moments before he opened his eyes wide, as if a light bulb had turned on.“Oooh…”“I tried to tell him earlier sir, but he just wasn’t picking it up,” Garrow said.“You boys get back in the van and keep your eyes open,” Riftan ordered. “Call me the moment you feel something is off, don’t wait until something is for sure off.” Without waiting for an answer he turned Maxi around by the shoulders and steered her back towards the truck.“Understood sir!” Ulyseon shouted and saluted him. “Bye Mrs. C! Have a good night!”Maxi waved to him over her shoulder, chuckling at the young man’s overly eager behavior.Riftan opened the door for her once they reached the truck and offered her his hand while she
climbed in. Maxi anxiously looked to their house as she buckled up and Riftan closed the door.She was hoping to get one last look at Elysia through a window, but she didn’t see Sidina with her in any of them. There wasn’t much time to look anyways, since Riftan put their bags in the back and then sat in the driver’s seat. He started up the truck and drove off without any hesitation. It unnerved Maxi greatly.Her apprehension only increased with the speed of the truck. And Riftan’s silence didn’t help either. Maxi noticed he kept looking in the rear view mirror several times, like he was distracted by another car behind them, but no one was following them. By the time they were coming upon their third stop sign, and the outskirts of their neighborhood, Maxi was beginning to question their decisions.“Are you s-sure about this? Do we really h-have to st-stay the night?” Maxi waited for him to respond, but he said nothing and only glanced from the rear view mirror back to the road ahead.“W-We could just stay a few hours a-and come back in time for wh-when Elysia first wakes up.
I-I mean… who does this? Who l-leaves their infant this y-young to go to a party?! Isn’t this i-irresponsible or s-selfish in some way?” She looked at him expectantly for a response, but he continued to remain silent as if he didn’t hear her. It got on her nerves and she snapped at him.“W-Why aren’t you s-saying anything?!”Riftan heaved an agitated sigh and then suddenly began to pull the truck over on the shoulder of the road. For a second Maxi thought he might be turning around, but he parked and turned on his hazard lights instead.He ran a hand roughly over his face before finally saying, “Do you want to go and spend time together, just the two of us, or not?”“O-Of course I want to spend time t-together! Don’t say it l-like I don’t want to.”“I didn’t mean it like that, but we can’t spend time together alone, and have Elysia with us.”“I know th-that… but an entire night?”“She will be sleeping for most of the time, it’s the only reason I agreed to this.”It was a valid point, Maxi knew it, but she still felt concerned and couldn’t shake the guilt of leaving their baby girl for the night. She didn’t expect her separation anxiety to be this bad, but it felt overwhelming.“I dont like leaving her either, Maxi,” Riftan calmly assured her. “I know Elysia is in capable hands and she’s safe, but it terrifies me that she isn’t in your hands or mine. And if all goes well tonight, we’ll have some fun but also be reminded of why we don’t go anywhere without her and we won’t do it ever again.”“S-So… you’re just as w-worried as I am.”
“Can you really not tell? I’m already losing mind. It’s weird not having her car seat in the back, I keep looking for her… We’ll be okay, we’re only twenty minutes away, I can get us back to the house in ten if necessary.”Maxi bit her lip in a small smile. Hearing him express his worries somehow softened her own.She loosened her seatbelt and leaned over the center console to kiss him on the cheek.“I think s-so too, we’ll be just fine,” she replied and wiped her lipstick off of his cheek. “We can still have fun a-and feel normal… without her right next to us.”“Are we good to go then?” Riftan asked.“Yes, let’s go.”With that he turned off his hazard lights and veered back onto the road. Maxi adjusted back into her seat and was checking her lipstick in the mirror, when she felt Riftan pull up her dress and rest his hand on her knee. He started to caress her skin lightly and aimlessly with his fingertips.It tickled a little, but she didn’t brush him off.They were pretty quiet for the remainder of the drive, enjoying each other’s company while some oldies music played on the radio.It was completely dark outside when they reached Ricaydo’s residence, which was on the opposite side of Anatol, further out in the country where Riftan and Maxi hoped to move soon.Ursuline and his fiancé, Catherine, had recently bought a rather large cabin and moved in earlier in the spring. Maxi was surprised they lived together at all since they hadn’t for years and it seemed they were waiting to get married. But she also knew Catherine was getting very impatient with how slow their nuptials were progressing.When they arrived there were several cars parked up the long driveway and in front of the garage. Since they were arriving late they had to park a little further down than Riftan wanted.He offered to drop Maxi off at the door, but she declined and chose to walk with him up to the house.Even though it was dark out Maxi could feel Riftan eyeing her. And as they neared the door the exterior lights revealed his impish expression.Riftan had his arm around her waist, and he reached up to fiddle with her ruby earring. “Have I told you how cute you look?” he flirtatiously asked.“No you haven’t, a-and I’ve been patiently waiting for it,” she said, pretending to feel neglected.“Well you look cute tonight. And sexy, really, really sexy.” Riftan suddenly stopped and pulled her body flush against his. “I might not be able to keep my paws off of you tonight,” he quietly whispered.His face was mere inches from hers, and he had the most devilish smile on his lips. He was incredibly warm but the scent of his cologne was cool and airy in contrast. Maxi felt her body flare up in an instant and color rose to her cheeks as he leaned just a little closer, but not all of the way.“W-We sh-should go inside,” she mumbled, worried that someone might discover them.Riftan’s brows furrowed in a disappointed frown and he let out a low growl. His grip on her tightened and he slid his hand down to grab her butt. Maxi shrieked and he instantly released her.“I guess that will have to suffice, for now.”Maxi glowered at him for trying to rile her up at such an inappropriate time and place. But he remained unbothered and looked her up and down with another mischievous smile. It only made her blush deepen. He had said she looked cute and sexy, meanwhile there was nothing cute about him. He was dripping with absolute sex appeal in that furry jacket with wolf ears, and then that smile of his. She briefly wondered how he would look hovering over her while he pinned her hands above her head… Maxi suddenly regretted suggesting the costume idea for him.She quickly pushed her carnal thoughts of him to the back of her mind and reached for the doorknob. The upbeat music that could be heard from outside only got louder once she opened the door and they stepped into the foyer. Though it was a rustic looking cabin on the outside, the inside of the house was completely modern in design.
Maxi was momentarily taken aback when she was met with the sight of a woman wearing what appeared to be a black, latex catsuit. The woman was taking someone’s coat and putting it in a closet when Maxi realized it was Catherine. She wasn’t sure to be more, or less surprised by her costume of choice, but she was sure that Ursuline did not approve of it.“Hi Catherine, we’re here,” Maxi said, getting her attention.Catherine turned around and her eyes lit up to see her. “Maxi! Hey, you made it!” She went over and embraced her, then pulled away to look her over. “How are you?”“I’m doing good… i-it’s been a while since we’ve been to a party,” Maxi replied.“It has been a long time,” Catherine readily agreed. “I see there’s no baby with you tonight. I’m a little surprised you didn’t bring her— oh I have gifts for her by the way!”“Well, we figured w-we might get a little time to ourselves.”“Definitely, you both need some adult time, Elysia won’t get a sibling otherwise,” Catherine playfully winked at her. “It’s too loud for a baby anyways, and people are drinking so, not a baby-friendly environment tonight. Did you dress her up too for Halloween?”“We did, do you want to see a picture?” Maxi offered.“Maxi, the answer is always yes, I always want to see baby pictures.”Maxi pulled out her phone and searched through her dozens of photos of Elysia in her costume before selecting one and showing it to Catherine. “This one is m-my favorite.” She swiped through a few to show several of Elysia’s cute moments dressed up.“Aww, look at her little ears with the bows, and the tail! I swear you guys have the cutest baby, it’s a good thing she got your smile and not Riftan’s frown,” she lightly teased. “Between you and Grace I’m going to be seriously ill with baby fever.”“Did Grace come? I-I wasn’t sure if she would be feeling up to it. She t-told me she thought she was having contractions the other day.”“Yeah she’s here, still holding that baby in somehow. Let me go ahead and take your coats, I’m being a bad hostess making you guys stand around here.”“Oh it’s alright, Catherine.” Maxi unbuttoned her coat and shrugged it off, it was getting a little warm now that they were inside.“Ooh-la-la, you’re looking like a hot mama tonight.” Catherine looked her up and down, admiring her costume. “Very classic costume, I like it.”“Thank you. Your costume is umm…” Maxi trailed off, unsure of how to describe Catherine’s costume. Besides the latex suit, she also had on a headband with cat ears, black whiskers and a nose painted on her face, and black high heeled boots to match the suit. Risqué was the first word that came to her mind, but she didn’t want to use that. “I-It’s cool,” she finally said.Catherine smiled as though she knew what Maxi had kept herself from saying. “That’s nice of you to say, Ursuline had a conniption when he saw it. He thinks latex suits and heels are strictly for the bedroom, but Halloween comes around only once a year and a girl’s gotta wear what she wants. You’re gonna die laughing when you see what Grace dressed as, she’s one of those beer gut guys.”“A what?”“You know, like a redneck guy with his beer gut hanging out. She’s wearing a tank top with her belly out and a flannel, and she’s got a ridiculous, fake, handlebar mustache. Hebaron let her borrow his prized ball cap with the Drachium draft beer logo on it too.” Catherine pointed over her shoulder to the living room all the way down the hall. “She’s been out in the living room dancing since she and Hebaron got here, she’s hoping to kickstart her labor.”Maxi peered behind her and saw Grace, indeed with her pregnant stomach partially exposed and dancing quite provocatively in front of her husband, Hebaron. Who was sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand and enjoying the show put on before him. Grace’s costume was just as hilarious as Catherine had said it would be, but Maxi didn’t look too long with the way she was dancing.Still Maxi couldn’t help chuckling at the sight of her. “She’s certainly m-making the best out of being pregnant on Halloween. Is Hebaron a l-lumberjack?”“He is, apparently he didn’t get the memo from Grace to pick something to go with her costume.But he’s been supplying her with empty beer cans as accessories to go with hers. He also brought a real axe, can you believe that?! Actually, it’s not that surprising. Ursuline confiscated it though.”“I-Is everyone else here too?”“Oh yeah, everyone’s already here. Gabel and Ellie came as vampires, then Elliot dressed up as a hot doctor, he swears he read the listing wrong when he ordered it. Sejour is a sexy sailor, and he’s DJing for us. And Quahel must’ve thought it would be funny to dress up as himself, a priest. He’s just been sitting stoically in the corner, judging people.”Maxi looked at everyone as Catherine pointed them out. She was most shocked by Quahel’s appearance, she figured a Halloween party was the last thing the clergyman would attend.“I’m kind of surprised Quahel showed up,” Maxi nonchalantly commented.“Me too. I think Sejour mentioned to him that you two were gonna be here, and if that isn’t bait…” Catherine teasingly nudged Maxi’s shoulder before addressing Riftan. “Riftan, where’s the rest of your costume? You’re missing the granny’s nightgown and cap.”Riftan had been silently enduring her yapping and wasn’t in the mood to endure her poking fun at him.“I think I misplaced it, right along with your wedding invitation—oh wait! I didn’t get an invitation yet, because you haven’t set a date still,” Riftan snidely remarked. “How’s that going, Catherine?”“R-Riftan!” Maxi stared at him wide eyed for being blatantly rude.“It’s going great, Riftan,” Catherine sarcastically replied, undaunted. “And don’t you worry, I will personally hand deliver your invitation, and your rsvp better be the first one I get back. Now, keys in the bowl, nobody is driving home drunk tonight.” She pulled a bowl out of the closet, already filled with other’s car keys, and held it out to him expectantly.He looked at it and scoffed. “You’re not getting my keys.”“Here, how about you trade me your truck keys for this room key?” Catherine pulled out a key attached to a tassel and dangled it in front of his face. “Your room is the last one on the second floor. And as usual I know how to take care of my friends when they stay here. There’s adult fun stuff in the nightstand drawer, and the bedsheets are waterproof. So if you can’t help being a dog and things get wet n’ wild, don’t worry. All I ask is that you put the sheets in the washer before you leave in the morning.”Riftan eyed the key she held for a moment, contemplating her offer. Then he snatched it from her and tossed his keys in the bowl. “You know, I just might get you a nice wedding gift.”“A month long, paid vacation for my man would suffice,” she said matter-of-factly.“Catherine!”Maxi almost jumped at the unexpected, stern voice. Catherine on the other hand wasn’t bothered by it and spun around upon hearing her name. Ursuline was weaving through some people, and looking displeased. He was dressed as a police officer, his grumpy expression helped him to pull it off. He stalked right up to Catherine.“Well hello, Officer Darling. Have you come to arrest me?” Catherine coyly asked while leaning up against him.Ursuline looked at her, astonished. He quietly and firmly said, “I asked you not to call me that with people around.”“But it suits you so well, I can’t resist calling you that.”He was about to say something more to her but he noticed Riftan and Maxi behind her and greeted them first instead.“Hello sir, Mrs. Calypse, it’s good to see you both.”Maxi smiled awkwardly at him. “H-Hi Ursuline, thank you for inviting us.”“Of course, it’s our pleasure,” he said with a nod. Then he pulled Catherine aside to talk to her again. “Now, didn’t I tell you not to let people in the living room with food? Hebaron’s got two open beers on the couch, and Grace has her nachos on the coffee table without a hot pad!”“Oh my God.” Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes. “How many times do we have to go over this? We’re not going to be that couple who throws a party and then doesn’t let their guests eat where they want or makes them take their shoes off.”“Catherine we just had the carpets cleaned last week!”“And we’ll get them cleaned again if necessary, it’s not a big deal, so don’t make it one.”“I’m not making it—!”Catherine shushed him by pressing a finger to his lips. She smiled politely at Riftan and Maxi.“Pardon us, I think we need to continue this in private. It seems Ursuline has a gourd stuck up his butt that he needs help with dislodging it.”“Catherine!” Ursuline exclaimed.She ignored him and continued to give Maxi a rundown of the party. “You two make yourselves at home, there’s plenty of food, desserts, and booze in the kitchen. I know neither of you really like the loud crowd, so if you don’t want to dance there’s pumpkins to carve in the dining room, there’s also a short maze out back by the horse barn. And if you really want to steer clear of the noise, grab a blanket out of the closet and go down to the pond on the north side. Oh! And there’s a contest for costumes, there will be prizes, so cast your votes.”Maxi felt relieved there was something to do other than drinking and dancing. “O-Okay, thank you Catherine,” she warmly replied.“No problem, I’ll catch up with you later!”Catherine started pushing Ursuline away towards a room that Maxi thought was their home office. She could hear them still bicker like an old married couple as they walked away.“Did you get all the house plants safely put away? I don’t want anyone knocking them over.”“Oh for the love—yes!” Catherine retorted. “I put all the plants in the sunroom.”“You’re sure you got them all? Even my pink philodendron?” Ursuline continued to question her.“What is it with you and that pink philodendron?!”Riftan shook his head while looking at them walk away. “I’d like to meet whoever set her up with him and give them a piece of my mind.”“D-Don’t be mean. It can’t be easy being in a longstanding engagement with s-someone as critical as Ursuline,” Maxi pointed out. “But if anyone can h-handle him, it’s Catherine.”“I suppose you’ve got a fair point,” Riftan admitted. “You wanna eat first?”She eagerly nodded. “Yes, I’m hungry.”Riftan led the way to the kitchen. Maxi would’ve had to push her way through all the guests, but they naturally parted for Riftan’s large stature to pass, and she trailed closely behind him.There was an array of food to choose from in the kitchen as Catherine had said, and it was clear people had already dug in. Maxi went for the nachos with Elliot’s famous meat and cheese dip that she was able to spot immediately. She also picked some crab cakes, Ursuline undoubtedly made them as his specialty, and some french fries with parmesan and garlic. Needless to say she ended up needing two plates by the time she got everything she wanted.There was an empty card table and chairs for people to sit and eat, so they chose to stay there with the amount of food they both had gotten. Maxi sat down and was about to dig in to her food, when he phone chimed.She picked it up and looked at it. “I got a message from Sidina. She s-sent a video too.” Maxi showed it to Riftan and pressed play. In the video, Elysia was sucking on her pacifier while looking at a framed photo of her parents from their vow renewal, then she hugged it to her chest. Sidina could be heard aww-ing in the background before the video ended. “Look, she m-misses us.” Maxi pouted her lips with a sad face. The little video tugged at her heart. Sidina also sent a message saying that Elysia was almost asleep.“Alright, put it away now,” Riftan said.Maxi’s pout turned into a frown. “Why?”“Are we going to pay attention to each other and enjoy ourselves? Or are we going to stare at pictures of Elysia on our phones and make each other sad about being away from her?”She sighed and put her phone facedown on the table. “Okay,” she halfheartedly replied.Maxi fought the urge to watch the video again as she started to eat, but it was so delicious she was able to be momentarily distracted. More ravenous than she realized, she scarfed down her food so fast that she ate only about half of everything before she felt stuffed. Riftan ate all of his food and finished off what Maxi left on her plate as well.She was so full she had to loosen the belt around her waist, and she didn’t know if she would be able to dance at all, she just wanted a nap now.“What do you want to do now?” Riftan asked after he cleared away their plates. “You wanna dance? Carve pumpkins? Get lost in a maze together?”Maxi was tempted to ask him for the room key so she could go take a nap, and she knew he would call it night right now if she wanted. But as lethargic as she was, she wanted to spend the night with him more than take a nap. Her senses snapped to in an instant when Riftan pulled her seat close to his and started to rub her thigh.“R-Riftan stop it! There’s p-people around!” She tried to push his hand off, but he was playfully resistant.“They’re all too busy partying to notice us, and you haven’t told me what it is you want to do now.”“I-I’d like to carve pumpkins! Then m-maybe we’ll dance.”He finally stopped rubbing her thighs and reached for a lock of her hair instead, twirling it around his fingers. “What are you going to carve on yours?”“I dunno, probably s-something cute, like a cat.”“Let’s get to it then, I want to see you dance tonight.”He stood up and offered her his hand. Maxi took it and they headed to the dining room. Once there, they had several pumpkins to choose from, probably at least two dozen of various shapes and sizes, some orange and some white. Maxi noticed of all the pumpkins available, only half a dozen had been carved and were displayed on a windowsill. It appeared not many were too excited by the option to carve pumpkins.She ended up choosing a perfectly round, orange pumpkin, and Riftan picked one a bit more oblong and white. He helped her cut the top off of hers and then she scraped out all the insides. After that she used a pencil to outline the design she wanted, then started to carve.Only about ten minutes into her carving she felt Riftan’s gaze on her. He was staring at her with dreamy eyes.“What?” Maxi asked. “Do I have pumpkin on m-my face or something?” She wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve before he even answered.“No, you’re just adorable when you concentrate really hard. You leave your mouth open a little and your eyes get excited, it’s cute.”Riftan grinned broadly at her, Maxi frowned.“Well stop st-staring so much, you’re distracting me.”“What’re you carving on yours?”He leaned over to see her pumpkin, but Maxi quickly turned it away so he couldn’t see. It was in a bit of a messy stage and didn’t look right yet.“N-No peeking! You’ll see when I’m done, so focus o-on your own carving,” she insisted.Riftan lightly pinched her cheek. “You’re so feisty, it’s turning me on.”Maxi shot him a sharp look and he laughed in response. But he let her be and resumed working on his pumpkin, and she did the same.It wasn’t even ten minutes later when Riftan announced, “All done.”Maxi looked at him incredulously. “H-How are you done already?!”“I chose something simple, that’s how.”“Well l-let me see it then.”Riftan turned his pumpkin around upon her request so she could see. He had cut away small, uneven lines to look like tree bark. In the center was a heart with their initials, M+R, scraped into it. It was simple, sweet, and cute.“I love it,” Maxi remarked with a smile. “But mine is going to be cuter, I’m a-almost done.”Maxi’s “almost done” turned into thirty minutes later.“Th-There, it’s finished.” She proudly presented her pumpkin to Riftan. Her carved design consisted of three cats, two larger ones and a small one, a representation of their family. There was also a crescent moon above the cats and tiny holes sporadically placed to look like stars.“It adorable, much cuter than mine,” Riftan agreed. “You’ve outdone me.”
“Yours i-is still sweet.” Maxi cleaned off their carving tools and wiped her hands while Riftan set their pumpkins in the windowsill. “We should probably go mingle now, sh-shouldn’t we?”Riftan shook his head. “We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to while we’re here.”“Yes, b-but we should still go say hello to everyone.”“Fine,” he begrudgingly conceded. “But I’m gonna need a drink first for socializing. Do you want anything? Water?”“I’ll just take a Sprite,” Maxi answered.“Sprite? All that sugar, you’re living on edge tonight, Maxi,” Riftan teased. Then he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a minute.”“I’m gonna go see i-if I can find Catherine, actually.”“Alright, I’ll come find you then.”
They both went their separate ways, Riftan back to the kitchen for a drink, and Maxi headed to the living room where she assumed Catherine might be.The party was in full swing with the lights turned down low, and strobe lights casting beautiful colors and shapes all around the room. It was a spacious living room and they had all the furniture pushed against the walls so people had room to dance.The music Sejour was playing had everyone dancing. Maxi saw him in the corner of the room wearing a white naval uniform that was completely unbuttoned, showing off all of his abs, but tucked into his pants. He even had a dixie cup hat and aviator sunglasses on. Everyone including him was enjoying the music, he as well was dancing behind the table with his setup.He must have sensed her gaze, he looked in her direction and waved, then blew her a kiss. Maxi instinctively whipped her head around in every direction to make sure Riftan wasn’t around to see, otherwise a fight might break out. When Sejour saw her panic he couldn’t help but laugh. Maxi as well giggled at herself and waved back at him.Amongst all the dancing guests she was able to spot Catherine by the fireplace with a drink in her hand. She was by herself and seemed to just be observing everyone, so Maxi pushed her way through the crowd to get to her. There were so many people, she didn’t know most of them either.Catherine was in the middle of downing her drink when Maxi got to her, and since it was a bit dark she wasn’t noticed as easily in the bustling crowd.She felt a little like child doing so, but Maxi lightly tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. “Hey Catherine.”Catherine turned and smiled cheerfully at her, “Hi Maxi.” Then she set her empty glass on the fireplace mantle. “Did you carve pumpkins? I thought I saw you and Riftan in the dining room.”Maxi nodded. “We did, i-it was fun. There’s a lot of pumpkins still left over.”“Oh, yeah I didn’t expect many people besides you guys to carve any. Most of everyone is here for the booze and the food. But I know you and Riftan aren’t party animals so I made sure there was something for you guys to do.”“You had pumpkins to carve… j-just for us?”“It was no trouble, I just want you to have good time since you’re not out often,” Catherine assured her with a smile.Maxi felt touched that she went out of her way to provide an activity she was certain they would enjoy. “That’s really considerate of you… By the way… I wanted to s-say sorry, for what Riftan said earlier, a-about you and Ursuline not setting a date.”Catherine shrugged and indifferently replied, “It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize, and it’s not like I’m unaware that our engagement is a joke at this point.”“S-Surely, you don’t mean that,” Maxi tentatively said.“No, I do mean it. What isn’t ridiculous about a guy giving a girl a four carat diamond and then stalling marriage for years on end?“ She held up her hand, observing the rock on her hand with disdainful eyes, then she shook her head. “I don’t even care if we have a wedding anymore, I’m fine with eloping. But he’s against that idea, of course. It won’t be that much longer until we’re common law, so what’s the point either way.”“Maybe… Maybe Riftan could talk to Ursuline, encourage him a bit,” Maxi lightly suggested.
She let out a small laugh, clearly finding the idea humorous. “I’m pretty sure the only thing Riftan would encourage him to do is get the ring back and split. He isn’t exactly my biggest fan, I’m not dense like some other people who thinks him glaring at me is a sign of friendship.”Maxi thought about it for a moment, and she inwardly admitted she could see Riftan indirectly suggesting to Ursuline that he move on in a different direction other than marriage…“Well maybe I-I could talk to him then.”“I’d appreciate it, but… I don’t know, there would be something demeaning if he were to listen to you and not me, you know?”“I understand… y-you should be the one he listens to.”“Thank you for offering though, if I change my mind I’ll let you know. And speaking of engagements, you want in on a secret?” There was a subtle twinkle in her eyes as she asked.Maxi hesitantly asked in return, “Are you s-sure it’s okay to tell me?”“I need to tell someone, I’ve been keeping it to myself for a while now,” she explained with a pained face, as if was unbearable to remain silent. “I can’t tell Grace because she will tell Hebaron and he will blab. If I tell you and you let it slip to Riftan, I know he’s a steel vault, he won’t say anything.”“Umm… okay,” Maxi uneasily consented.Catherine leaned in closer to quietly say, “Gabel’s gonna propose to Ellie.”Maxi looked at her wide eyed. “He is?!”“Yep, he got the ring in earlier this week. I made sure to push him in the right direction to get the one Ellie sent me photos of months ago, and he pulled through.”“I-Is he planning to do it soon?”“Not for another month. He wants to do it when we go as a group to that tree farm—you guys are obviously invited. Do you think you’ll make it? You should bring Elysia, they have mini cows and pygmy goats, I’m sure she would love those.”“I’m certain we’ll be there, to get a tree a-and enjoy the activities,” Maxi assured her.“Great. So anyways, he wants to do it on a group outing so she doesn’t suspect anything, but also in a place where they can go off somewhere more privately. You know they have those horse-drawn sleigh rides? He’s thinking of taking her on one and popping the question.”It sounded like a sweet and romantic proposal to Maxi. “I’m sure she will love that.”“I think so too,” Catherine agreed. “If only every man could be that romantic and thoughtful.” She shot a dirty look to Ursuline across the room, but he was busy talking to Elliot and didn’t notice.“… I-I’m sure you and Ursuline will set a date soon,” Maxi tried to console her.“I don’t know, maybe. Sorry, I don’t mean to keep talking about it.” Catherine shook her head, embarrassed. “Things have just been a little tense between us, since everyone but us is moving on in life. Regardless though, he’s my ride or die, he’s it for me even if we never set a date.”“Everyone m-moves at a different pace, I’m sure you guys will e-eventually get where you want to.”“Yeah, I’ll stop talking about it. Tonight’s supposed to be a good time— oh thank God! You’re my savior just in time.”Catherine’s face brightened to see Ellie coming up to her with a a shot glass in each hand.“You looked like you needed a shot. So I brought you two.” Ellie happily handed both of them to Catherine. “Hi Maxi!”“Hi Ellie, it’s good to see you.” Maxi gave her a hug and immediately tried to push away the secret that Catherine had just told her. “I like your costume, you and Gabel l-look really good together.”She was wearing a black, silky dress with a slit up the thigh, and a lace tailcoat with a high collar. Her dark eye makeup and pale foundation helped to make her brown eyes glow, giving her the perfect vampiric semblance.“Thanks so much. I thought Quahel was gonna throw holy water on me when I walked in,” she said with a laugh.Catherine teasingly feigned shock. “You almost got the holy water spritz too?”“Yeah, then he pulled out his pocket sized Bible when he saw me and Gabel. He started reading it while looking at us really weird.”“Oh you mean when you two were sucking each others faces off and you were literally straddling your man on my sofa? Or are you referring to when you stumbled out of the closet with your costumes pulled every which way?”“Hey, passion happens when it happens, it can’t be stopped,” Ellie humorously argued. “Wait… Catherine, am I completely wasted, or is that Agnes in a pink princess costume that I’m seeing?”Ellie pointed to the living room entrance, prompting Catherine and Maxi to look in the direction. Sure enough Agnes Reuben was making her way through the living room, getting some odd looks for her bright, pink princess costume, a tiara included.“Holy shit, she came.” Catherine gaped at the sight before snorting with laughter. “I didn’t think she’d actually show up.”“I n-never would’ve expected Agnes to wear pink, or a princess costume, m-much less both,” Maxi had to say.“Yeah, you’re welcome.”Maxi furrowed her brows in confusion, and looked at Catherine. “For what?” she asked.Ellie also cast her a knowing glance. “Let me guess Cate, you had something to do with this, didn’t you?”“Not something, everything.” Catherine had the most smug smile on her face. “A few weeks back she invited Ursuline and I to a dinner party with some of her colleagues, and Ursuline took the opportunity to invite her to our party tonight. I didn’t really want to invite her, since I know Riftan and Maxi aren’t exactly comfortable with her around,” she explained.“What? B-But I really don’t have a problem with Agnes,” Maxi insisted and waved her hands.“It’s ok, we know, you can be real with us,” Ellie said.“Yeah we know Maxi, every time she’s around you keep your face calm, but I feel your vibes shift. Riftan too, he can’t hide it nor does he want to. And if I gotta choose between Agnes and the other two from the Wigrew crew that annoy Riftan, sorry not sorry, I’m choosing the Wigrew boys.”Ellie eagerly nodded in agreement. “Same here, their rivalries are actually entertaining.”“Yeah, unfortunately my hands were tied with Ursuline inviting her,” Catherine said with a sigh.“And it was too late to rescind my invite to Sejour and Quahel.”“So how did you get her in that costume?”“Long story short we got into a drinking game after dinner and we found out I hold my liquor better. Winner got to pick the loser’s costume, and I picked the last thing she would ever wear voluntarily. I hoped it would entice her not to show up, but at least she’s not a sore loser, I’ll give her that.”Maxi urgently nudged Catherine when she saw Agnes notice her and start to walk their way. “S-She’s coming over here, we should probably stop t-talking about her.”“Don’t worry I got this,” Catherine confidently replied. “I’ll distract her and you can escape to your man. He’s been eyeing you from over there in the corner for a while now.”Maxi looked to the corner that Catherine indicated and Riftan was indeed waiting over there. Most of his face was shrouded in darkness from his hood being pulled up, but she could tell he was looking at her while sipping on his drink. She wasn’t sure if she should go ahead and excuse herself to go to him, or be polite and stay to greet Agnes.As much as she wanted to deny being uncomfortable around Agnes, Maxi was suddenly dreading that she might question her about when she would be back to working full time again. They didn’t see each often, but it was always a question that Agnes raised when they did cross paths. She even went as far as offering to help find a suitable daycare or a nanny for Elysia. She was only trying to be helpful, but it was unsolicited and a bit much for Maxi… Riftan nearly went ballistic when it happened…Before she could make up her mind, Agnes was already approaching them.“Hello ladies!” Agnes smiled exuberantly.All three of them collectively replied to her in various tones of excitement, “Hi Agnes.”“Great party Catherine, and it’s so good to see you Maximilian! It’s been quite some time.”“I-It’s nice to see you too Agnes,” Maxi kindly responded.“Your costume looks great by the way,” Ellie complimented her.One might’ve thought it wasn’t a compliment, but in truth Agnes did make the pink dress look charming despite it not being something she would choose to wear.Agnes seemed flattered. “Oh, well thank you Ellie. I think I’m pulling it off rather well if I do say so myself.”“You are pulling it off, it suits you more than I thought,” Catherine also agreed. “I was honestly worried you might not actually come tonight, I know you’re a busy woman.”“I couldn’t miss this after being personally invited.”“I’m sure you could have. But I’m so glad you’re here. Do you wanna do some shots in the kitchen? Round two?” Catherine said enticingly.Agnes smiled broadly, clearly enticed. “That sounds like fun.”“I am so down for shots, let me grab Gabel!” Ellie excitedly shouted. She turned around to call for Gabel. “Babe!”Gabel appeared out of nowhere, as if he had been waiting for her close by all along. “Yes, my love?” he answered.“Come on, everybody’s doing shots in the kitchen!”“We’re doing body shots in the kitchen?! Alright I’m in!”“No we’re doing regular shots!” Ellie corrected him.“I heard body shots, so that’s what I’m doing.”“You are not doing body shots in my kitchen. I have to draw the line somewhere,” Catherine firmly said. But Gabel and Ellie were already running off to the kitchen.“Are you coming Maximilian? You should, it’s going to be fun,” Agnes insisted.“Oh, I-I uh, actually I have to get back to Riftan.” Maxi awkwardly pointed over her shoulder to him. “H-He’s been waiting for me.”“Well don’t let him hide you away all—!““You lovebirds have fun!” Catherine interrupted her. “Come on Agnes! Shots!” She wrapped her arm around Agnes’ shoulders and started pulling her away towards the kitchen before she could say anything else.Maxi clamped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. It was a little amusing to see Agnes being pulled away by someone her own size.“Looks like you’re finally free.”Maxi whirled around at the sound of Riftan’s deep voice behind her. She was met with his dark, onyx eyes. “I thought y-you were going to come find me earlier?”“I did find you, but I decided not to interrupt you. It looked like you were in the middle of girl talk, or whatever you call it.”
Riftan opened her can of Sprite and handed it to her, and they both took a sip of their drinks.“I was actually… But I’m all yours now.” She smiled sweetly at him, causing him to press his lips into a firm line.“Good, because I need you,” he said, impatient. Then he took her drink and his and set them on the mantle.Maxi shrieked when he unexpectedly grabbed her by the hand and twirled her away from him, before pulling on her and spinning her back to him. Caught off guard and clumsy on her feet, she landed against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling. Dizzy from the sudden movements, she laughed against his chest and he leaned down to kiss her cheek.Though the type of music playing wasn’t the type to sway to, Riftan nonetheless swayed with her in his arms for a moment. His embrace was so sweet and warm that it felt like they were the only ones in the world.* * *Riftan kept her dancing to his heart’s content, which luckily for Maxi, coincided with when she decided she really needed to pump. After discreetly telling Riftan so, he got her things out of the truck and they went outside to the pond where it was quiet and Maxi could have her privacy.There was a small picnic table down by the edge of the pond, so Maxi and Riftan had a place to sit comfortably. Riftan brought a blanket with them and wrapped it around Maxi’s shoulders since it was a little too chilly without it for her. And it was convenient that she had the best breast pump on the market that was wearable with no wires or tubing to get in her way of being comfortable.It was completely quiet out where they were, they couldn’t even hear the music coming from the house. The water of the pond was still, not a single ripple, and the blanket of stars across the night sky was perfectly reflected.
Besides the soft whirring of her breast pump, everything was so serene.“This is nice,” Riftan said and put his arm around her.“If it wasn’t for the breast pump, I-I’d say it’s perfect,” Maxi replied.“I don’t mind the breast pump.” He squeezed her a little closer to himself, cozying up to her.“Says the person who isn’t a-attached to it.”“I’ve offered countless times to help you out with your milk if pumping is so uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure I would get more out of you too.”“S-Stop it!” Maxi cried and looked at him incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous.”“You didn’t seem to think it was ridiculous when I helped you with that clogged duct a few months ago.”Maxi scrunched up her nose. “Don’t remind me of that, i-it was awful.”“Besides you being in pain, I had a great time helping out.”Maxi rolled her eyes in response. Her pump quieted down and a white light flashed on it, signaling that the milk bags were full. So she started removing the pump from herself.“You all done?”Maxi nodded. “Yes, all done.”“Any left for me?”Riftan raised his brows at her suggestively and she glowered at him in return.“Don’t frown too hard, Maxi,” he said. “Be glad I’m not one of those idiots that thinks it’s gross for their woman to breastfeed.”Maxi pondered his statement while putting her pump away and inwardly agreed that he had always been encouraging and accommodating with her decision to nurse. From squeezing his hand in pain of nursing in the early weeks, to feeding her while she nursed, or making sure she had the best pump and always cleaning it for her when she was done, Riftan helped to make her journey easier in any way he could.“I suppose you have been supportive,” Maxi nonchalantly acknowledged.Riftan regarded her seriously for a moment. “Suppose? You suppose, that’s it?”“What? You d-don’t like being teased? Hmm, funny how that works,” she dismissively countered.“You are…”“I’m what, huh?”“You’re asking for it, that’s what.”“R-Riftan! Ahh!”Maxi let out an unceremonious scream as Riftan grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her. She fought him off to no avail, shrieking with laughter and kicking her legs, until he hoisted her onto his lap and kissed her. Already out of the breath, his kiss was nearly suffocating and she struck him on the shoulder repeatedly before he came to his senses and backed off just enough.His kiss turned soft and tender, making Maxi emit a small moan and lean against him now.
Riftan cradled the back of her head with one hand, while gently running his hand over breast with the other, not squeezing, just a light caress to soothe her.Maxi didn’t think they should be doing this out here, but no one was around and it was too late. After he maneuvered her legs so she was straddling him, Riftan leaned back against the table and pulled her flush to him. Maxi wound her arms around his neck as he titled his head to deepen their kiss.Just when she thought they were reaching the point of no return, a bright light was shone on them. They instinctively broke their kiss and Maxi ducked to hide.“Excuse me, sir,” called a voice from the distance.Riftan whipped his head around to see who the interloper was, and naturally it was Ursuline Ricaydo.“I swear to God, one of these days his cock-blocking is going to get him killed,” Riftan vehemently muttered to himself. Then he stonily shouted, “What is it?!”“Do the two of you have to do that by our pond?” Ursuline looked equally annoyed.
Riftan pulled the blanket around Maxi to cover her more. “Is there something you need? If not, then get lost.”“I’m on my own property here,” Ursuline retorted while motioning around.“What do you want Ricaydo?”“Catherine wanted me to come get you, they’re about to announce the winners for the costume contest.”Maxi suddenly slid off of Riftan’s lap and started smoothing out her clothes. “W-We should head in, we’ve b-been out here l-long enough anyways,” she nervously stammered.Riftan sighed and clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Fine, let’s go back in.”Ursuline didn’t wait for them and took off on his own. After adjusting himself, Riftan gathered up their belongings and walked back to the house hand in hand with Maxi.Back inside the house, everyone was convened in the living room with the music turned down, only a few stragglers were still in the kitchen.“I’ll take care of this, you go ahead and I’ll meet you in there.” Riftan was talking about her breast pump and milk.“A-Are you sure?”“Yeah, I gotta be supportive,” he teased, then he pecked her on the cheek and left for the kitchen.Maxi went to the living room with everyone else, it was packed even as large as it was. She found a spot along the wall where it wasn’t as crowded, so Riftan could spot her when he came back.“Is everyone ready for the contest results?!” Sejour shouted into his microphone. Everyone cheered with excitement. “Alright, we’re gonna start off with the result for best costume, and the winner is…” He paused for dramatic effect before announcing, “M. D. Elliot Charon, the sexiest doctor around! Come up here and get your prize!”Everyone clapped and cheered while Elliot, who was off to the side, looking astonished that he had won. He sheepishly meandered through the crowd to Sejour’s table and accepted a large gift basket from Catherine.“Congratulations doctor Charon,” she emphatically applauded him in a joking manner.
Elliot blushed and expressed his gratitude. “Thanks Catherine.” He walked off back to his former spot while Sejour moved on to the next winner.
“Next! We’ve got the most classic costume, and the winner is…” He paused for dramatic effect again, taking the role of announcer very seriously. “Count Lachzion the vampire!”Everyone cheered and applauded as they had before, looking around for Gabel to collect his prize. But he didn’t step forward from the crowd.“Lachzion? Where are you? Come get your prize!” Sejour shouted.“I think he and Ellie are uh, preoccupied at the moment,” Hebaron hollered, followed by snickering.“Of course they are.” Catherine rolled her eyes and set Gabel’s gift basket aside.“Alrighty then, moving on. Now we have the hottest costume, I think I know who the winner for this one is…” Sejour was giddy as he opened the envelope with the result. But his giddiness soon vanished when he read it. “Oh come on Cate! This can’t be right—the votes had to be rigged!”Catherine shrugged innocently with her hands up in the air. “That’s how the votes came out, Sejour, honest. Maybe it’s an act of God.”“You gotta be kidding me!— oh alright.” Sejour shook his head in nonsensical disbelief. He unenthusiastically muttered into the microphone, “The winner for the hottest costume is Father Leon, yay, come get your prize.”Sejour was not the only one surprised by the vote, Maxi too was not expecting the priest to win that particular category. Many in the crowd however, began whistling and whooping as Quahel got up from his corner of solitude and walked over to accept his gift basket.“It is clear that chastity and modesty are attractive to many. Eat your heart out, Aren,” Quahel cooly said, a very faint, smug smile on his lips.“Yeah—yeah—sure it is Leon.” Sejour avoided eye contact with him, deep in disappointment that he did not win sexiest costume like he had thought. “Alright let’s wrap this up, best couple’s costume, big shocker the winners are Riftan and Maximilian Calypse!”Maxi was stunned when their names were called, she didn’t expect to win anything either. Nevertheless she looked around for Riftan as people were clapping and cheering for them, when she felt a sharp poke on her back. She jumped, startled, and turned around to see Riftan standing right behind her. She had no idea how long he had been there, but he nudged her forward to claim their prize.He followed her up to the table and Catherine excitedly handed them their gift basket.“Make sure the Big Bad Wolf gives you your fair share of the prize, sweetheart,” Sejour called out to her. He flashed a big cheeky smile her way and winked at her.In an instant Riftan had him grabbed by the collar of his costume.“What did you call her?!” he growled.“Woah!—Woah!” Sejour exclaimed, tightening his hands around Riftan’s wrists. “Calm down Wolfie, paws off the white uniform.”Maxi was taken aback by how quickly things had happened, so it took her moment to intervene. “I-It was j-just a joke Riftan, c-come on!” she pleaded and roughly yanked on his jacket.“I think your owner is tugging on your leash.” Sejour chuckled while struggling to keep Riftan from tightening his grip.“Learn to shut your mouth, Aren,” Riftan snarled with a voice full of venom.
Not taking the warning, Sejour taunted him further. “Oooh did I just make the Big Bad Wolf bark?”A dangerous glint flashed through Riftan’s eyes and he looked like he was about to toss Aren across the room. Sensing danger ahead of himself, Sejour’s eyes went round and he appeared to be both fearful and excited.“Riftan! E-Enough!” Maxi shouted. She reached up and pulled on his arm hard until he released Sejour and pushed him away.The crowd had gone awkwardly silent, countless people had their phones out, ready to record a potential fight. Maxi blushed in embarrassment as she and Riftan both led each other away.“Phew, that was close folks,” Sejour said into the microphone. He chuckled nervously while rubbing his collar bones. “It’s not a party until Riftan Calypse threatens someone over his girl, amirite?” Everyone did find that humorous and laughter traveled amongst the crowd again. Now that Sejour had the crowd back he brought things to a close. “Alright now let’s finish this. The last winner for funniest costume is… Grace Nirtha! Get on up here Grace!”The crowd went back to cheering like nothing had happened. Grace jumped up and down, as equally excited.“Woohoo! That’s my woman!” Hebaron bellowed. He gave Grace a double high five and lightly bumped his belly to hers, then he tried to pick her up on his shoulders, but she was quick to say no.Maxi didn’t pay much attention to what was happening behind her as she shuffled alongside Riftan to a corner of the living room.Even though things were settled down and the crowd was getting back to dancing, Riftan was still shooting daggers at Sejour. Maxi wasn’t much in the mood to dance again, her feet were beginning to hurt from her boots. She figured it might be best to call it a night.“Wh-What do you say we t-take our gift basket back to our room… a-and settle down f-for the night?”She pressed herself against him a little to tempt him. Riftan finally stopped murdering Sejour with his gaze to meet Maxi’s eyes staring up at him.“It’s probably a good idea, you’re looking a little tired.” He brushed her bangs out of her face and tenderly caressed her cheek.Instead of assuring him she still had some energy left, Maxi took his hand and led him towards the stairs. It wasn’t hard to find their room, it was straight down at the end of the hall of the second floor. After going in and closing the door behind himself, Riftan locked the door and Maxi tossed her cape aside then plopped on the bed to take her boots off.Riftan took over and untied the laces to pull off each of her boots, then he started to strip off his costume. Maxi finished taking off her belt and other accessories too, leaving only her dress. She avoided watching Riftan undress too closely, and started opening the gift basket.Inside was a bottle of wine, all kinds of chocolates and snacks, and a few different gift cards for places to eat and one certificate for a couple’s massage. Maxi went for the chocolates first, meanwhile Riftan propped up some pillows behind her so she could lay back. Then he sat on the bed in front of her, wearing only his boxer briefs, and started to rub her sore feet.She was going to insist he didn’t need to, but it felt so good she couldn’t ask him to stop. After only a few minutes her eyelids started to feel heavy. Maxi looked at the time on her phone and it was after one in the morning, which meant Elysia should be back asleep by now after her feeding. She wondered how she was doing.“Will you pull up the babycam, please?” Maxi asked in a drowsy voice.Riftan did as requested and handed over his phone. On the screen Maxi could see Elysia sound asleep in her crib, her pacifier in her mouth and Roy curled up at her feet too. They looked so sweet, it made Maxi miss her more than she already did. Before she made herself sad she handed the phone back to Riftan. He looked at Elyisa on the screen too for a moment and then turned it off.Maxi adjusted against the pillows to get more comfortable, and when she did she noticed she had eaten quite a bit of the chocolates in the tin on her lap, without sharing any with Riftan.“Here, try one.” She leaned forward and popped a chocolate covered blueberry into his mouth. Riftan licked her fingers before she could pull her hand away too fast.“Mmm… that’s good.” As if to prove the delicious taste he licked his lips as well.Seeing him do so made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She was becoming increasingly tired, but she also had to urge to be with him. After all, this was a rare occasion that there wasn’t an infant around to interrupt them, and who knew when this would happen again. Not to mention it was getting difficult to stare at his well fitted boxer briefs and not feel something.Without warning, she pushed his hands away from massaging her feet, then sat up to kiss him. He indulged her and returned the kiss several times over, before he unexpectedly brought things to a halt.“We shouldn’t,” he said in a thick voice and pulled away.Maxi looked at him confused, unable to figure out why he wanted to stop when he had been sending her signals all night.“We sh-shouldn’t? Not even a little?”“Were you expecting that we would?”“W-Well… yeah… I can’t remember the l-last time we did it without a baby in the next room. I figured you would take advantage of the opportunity, w-with the way you’ve been acting all night,” she explained.Riftan brushed her hair over her shoulder, and then rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb.“As much as you’re looking like a hot mom that I want to eat up from head to toe and from every angle, I know you’re tired,” Riftan whispered against her lips. “Your eyes are only half open... But if you’re concerned with missing our window of opportunity, perhaps I’ll wake you up in the morning to do the monster mash.”Maxi giggled at his choice of words to describe their relations. He pushed her back onto the bed and laid down next to her on his side. Then he pulled the blanket up to her chin, drowsiness suddenly flooding her. She tried to fight it for a moment, but the comfort and warmth of his body against hers almost immediately pulled her underneath slumber.“Good night… Riftan,” she sleepily mumbled.He kissed her forehead and tucked her under his chin. “Good night Maxi, sweet dreams.”* * *The next morning Maxi stumbled out of their room to take a shower in the guest bath across the hall. She had had an early morning with Riftan waking her at the crack of dawn, unable to wait any longer to make good on his word. Maxi ended up falling back asleep afterwards, and woke up a couple of hours later with the smell of food wafting up from downstairs.Riftan brought their bags inside from the truck so Maxi could have her toiletries and clean clothes to change into after her shower. As she was finishing up with her hair in the bathroom, there was a knock on the door followed by Riftan’s voice requesting entry, Maxi told him to come in. He poked his head in to make sure she was decent before going in. After closing the door he came up behind her and sensually kissed along her shoulder and to her neck.“How’s my little monster this morning?” he said in her ear.“Mashed,” she bluntly replied with blushed cheeks.Riftan laughed and looked at her in the vanity mirror. “Mashed in a good way, I hope.”Maxi nodded. “Properly mashed.”“Good. There’s breakfast waiting for you in our room, Catherine brought it up. You should eat and then we’ll get going.”“Okay.”Riftan left her to finish and returned to their room to tidy things up and throw the sheets in the wash as was requested of him. Once Maxi was done she joined him in the room and scarfed down the sumptuous and delicious breakfast that was prepared. Afterwards they wasted no time in gathering their belongings and headed downstairs to leave. They had a good time, but they were ready to go home and be with Elysia.“There’s the lovebirds,” Hebaron announced when they entered the kitchen.He was seated at the table with Grace and Elliot, enjoying their morning coffee. While Ursuline and Catherine were busy at the stove and island with food. They all exchanged morning greetings with one another.“Did you sleep okay?” Catherine asked Maxi, a hint of apprehension in her voice.“Yeah, we were comfortable,” she reassured her.She breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, I was worried it would be a rough night for you without Elysia.”“I thought i-it would be too, but the night turned out okay… We have to get going though, I wish we could st-stay to help clean up since it looks like most of everyone is gone already.”“Oh it’s fine, Ursuline started kicking people out pretty early. Gabel and Ellie are still here, they’re asleep in the bathtub though. They’ll probably help with cleaning whenever they wake up.”“They’re asleep i-in the bathtub?” Maxi wasn’t sure she heard her correctly.Catherine nodded and started chuckling. “Yep, they got pretty wasted last night and mistook our master bathroom for their designated bedroom. At least their clothes are still on, it would’ve been a sight to walk in on this morning if not.”“I am so going to turn the shower on them right now.” Hebaron started to get up from his seat, but Grace pushed him back down with her foot.“No you’re not, you’re supposed to be rubbing my feet,” Grace told him. She tapped her bare foot expectantly on his thigh.Ursuline turned around from cooking at the stove and scowled. “Can you not do that at the kitchen table? It’s disgusting.”“She’s pregnant, leave her alone,” Catherine chided him and pinched the back of his arm.“Yeah I’m pregnant, leave me alone, ya crab cake.”
“Speaking of the crab cakes, Hebaron, please tell me you didn’t finish them off this morning?”
He shrugged while rubbing Grace’s swollen ankle. “Why wouldn’t I? They were just sitting there.”“Exactly. They were just sitting there because I forgot to put them away last night. You’re gonna get sick.” Catherine made a disgusted face at him.Grace also looked at her husband with a repulsed expression. “Eww, I swear, if you get sick and then I go into labor at the same time, you’re staying in the waiting room.”“Honey, come on, I’ll be fine. Your man can handle a couple of semi-spoiled crab cakes.”“Catherine,” Riftan sternly interrupted the crab cake discussion.“Yes?” she answered. “Is there a problem?”Riftan pointed inside the fridge where he had been rummaging around in. “I put four, glass jars of milk in here last night, there’s only three now. I specifically put them in the back where no one would mess with them. Did you move one?”“No.” Catherine didn’t look pleased to be accused so baselessly. “I saw them in there earlier when I was grabbing the eggs, maybe someone else moved it. Are you sure you looked everywhere?”“You guys talking about that coffee creamer in the weird jars?” Hebaron asked. “It’s great, you should try it! Where did you get it Catie?”Almost in sync everyone looked uneasily at Hebaron’s coffee mug he was drinking from.“Oh no…” Maxi quietly said, her face turning beet red. She wished she could disappear before anything else was said or confirmed.“Hebaron, please tell me you didn’t…” Catherine trailed off, afraid to ask.“I didn’t what? I put the empty jar in the sink, I didn’t throw it— Oi! That’s my coffee!”Riftan stormed over and grabbed Hebaron’s mug from him. “Not anymore it’s not,” he coldly said. Then he proceeded to gulp down the entirety of the coffee.“Hebby,” Grace shook her head and tried to stifle her laughter. “That wasn’t coffee creamer.”“Well what the hell was it then?!”“It was umm… mommy milk.” Grace couldn’t contain herself anymore and burst out into laughter, Catherine too couldn’t help herself and doubled over.Hebaron slapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh my God, you’re saying I just drink her tata milk?”Hebaron looked absolutely flabbergasted while Riftan was cutting him to pieces in his mind. Ursuline was scowling with disgust, Elliot seemed to be concerned, and Catherine and Grace were practically wheezing.Though it was by no means her mistake, Maxi had never felt more embarrassed in her entire life. Hebaron only proceeded to make it worse once his shock wore off.“Well hell Mrs. C, you could sell that stuff, goes great with coffee. Grace, you gonna put a squirt of milk in my morning coffee after the baby comes?”“Not a chance, I’m not wasting my milk on you.”Hebaron then made the mistake of asking Riftan, “Does she give you splash of fresh milk in your coffee?— Oi! That hurt!”Riftan bashed him over the head with the empty coffee mug in his hand.“Stop your whining, you’re lucky I don’t shove my fingers down your throat and make you throw it up.”“Geez, possessive much? It’s just milk at the end of the day!” Hebaron aggressively rubbed the back of his head with a glare.“Here sir,” Elliot said, stepping forward with his coffee mug. His face just as red as Maxi’s. “You should probably have mine as well... Nirtha made my cup too.”Riftan’s lips twitched while looking at the mug extended to him. He took it and drank what was left of Elliot’s coffee as well. “We’re outta here,” he said, forcefully setting the mug down on the table with a thud.“Oh come on, you guys can’t be leaving already,” Hebaron protested. “We’re gonna hang out and get lunch as a group later.”“They have a baby to get back to, don’t bother them,” Grace told him.Riftan acted as though he didn’t hear either of them and went to the sink to wash the empty milk jar to take with them. Maxi was also ready to get out of there as quickly as possible now.“So what they have a baby? They don’t have to be boring, one of them can go get little Elysia and bring her back to hang out too.”“They’re not being boring, they have a responsibility, one you’re going to have any day now. So take a good look at what being responsible and leaving early looks like.”“Pfft nah. We’re just gonna take our kid everywhere with us. Catie will watch ‘em when we wanna sneak off.”Grace rolled her eyes. “You’re in for such a rude awakening.”Riftan finished with the empty jar and placed it in the insulated bag with the others. “We’re leaving, let’s go Maxi.”He didn’t have to tell her twice, she started putting on her jacket while he gathered their travel bags.“Wait!—The gifts!” Catherine exclaimed. “Hang on just a sec!” Then she hurried out of the kitchen.Riftan looked like he might blow a fuse waiting for her, luckily she returned almost immediately with a huge bag in her hands.“Here,” she held the colossal bag up.Maxi gaped at the sheer size of the bag, she was clueless as to what all could be in there. “This i-is a lot Catherine, you really didn’t have to.” It looked like there were several smaller bags of things inside the large one.Catherine awkwardly laughed. “Yeah I know, sorry I went a little crazy. I shouldn’t be allowed to shop in baby sections, I always go overboard.”“Did you put her pumpkin beret in there?” Ursuline asked.“Yes it’s in here. This is the one he’s talking about, he specifically picked it out for Elysia.” Catherine pointed to a small hat box to indicate the specific present. “And there’s a really cute mommy and me outfit that I picked. I know the two of you will look adorable in them. Now I separated everything into bags from where I bought it, and there’s gift receipts for everything, so if there’s something you don’t like you can just have Riftan take it back and exchange it or whatever you want.”“I’m sure we’ll like e-everything, you have good taste. Thank you for going out of your way f-for us.”“It’s no problem. Hopefully we’ll see you guys again before the tree farm.”“Come on Maxi.”Riftan grabbed the gift bag out of Catherine’s hands and impatiently tugged on Maxi. She pushed away his hand rudely trying to pull her along. She wanted to leave too but she no longer felt the need to run.Catherine wasn’t oblivious to Riftan’s agitation and started to usher Maxi out too. “Alright, well bye now.”She hurried and opened the front door for them. Riftan nearly barreled out.“Bye, Catherine!” Maxi just barely waved at her before the door closed behind them. She frowned at Riftan for being a little too rushing.“She must think we don’t buy Elysia enough things,” he annoyedly said and threw the gift bag into the back seat of the truck.“Catherine doesn’t th-think that all. If you haven’t noticed already, she likes going above a-and beyond with gifts.”Riftan didn’t say anything more in response to that as he opened Maxi’s door for her. “You should text Sidina, tell her we’re on the way.”“I will,” she answered.Riftan closed her door and headed around to the other side. He got in and started up the truck as Maxi pulled out her phone to message Sidina.“Hey, come here,” he said and leaned over the center console.Maxi leaned towards him too. “What is it?”He gave her a soft kiss before telling her, “I had fun with you.”She was still feeling a little salty with him, but she couldn’t help smiling at him either. “I had fun with you too.”“Good, I’m glad.” Riftan gave her one more peck on the cheek before sitting back in his seat.“Next time though, I’m putting your breast milk in a lock box before it goes in the fridge.”Maxi wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh, or cry. But she knew his idea wasn’t over the top after what happened. She did not want to experience that kind of embarrassment ever again, even if it meant locking up her breast milk at a friend’s house.The drive home was quicker than normal thanks to Riftan going just a little faster than the speed limit. He seemed just as eager as Maxi to get home to Elysia.When they pulled up to the house Maxi didn’t bother waiting for him to open the door for her and she hopped out. Then she barely waved at Ulyseon sitting bright eyed and bushy tailed in the van, waving at her. And it was almost like a contest between the couple, to get up the steps to the house before the other.Riftan of course made it to the door first, but he unlocked it and opened it for Maxi to go in. When she burst through the door she nearly startled Elysia, who was sitting on the living room floor with her toys. Upon seeing her parents, Elysia’s pacifier fell out of her mouth and she threw down her toys. She immediately scrambled to her hands and knees.“Where’s my sweet girl?” Maxi said, playfully pretending to look for her.Elysia crawled to her with gusto and stopped just before her. She sat back and waved her arms in a frenzy, begging to be picked up, and her big grey eyes desperate.“There she is!” Maxi exclaimed and scooped her up. She fervently showered her with kisses, both mother and daughter were overjoyed to embrace again. “I missed you.” Maxi cradled Elysia against herself, naturally she started going to her source of food and comfort, violently pulling at her mother’s shirt.Maxi sat on the couch with her and let her nurse. It was then that she noticed Riftan went back out to get their bags, probably due to him not getting a chance to hold Elysia. And she also finally took notice of Sidina, who was picking up the abandoned toys.“How did she do, Sidina? I-I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”“She did great!” Sidina insisted. “She was definitely super sad after you left and cried a little, but I was able to distract her with Roy. And she was a little whiny going down for bed, and again when she woke up for her bottle, but she wasn’t really crying. I saw a thing about giving babies a piece of their mom’s clothing to help soothe them, so I found a sweater of yours to give her and that helped a lot.”“A-And this morning?”“Definitely confused to see me, and she was looking around for you. But she stayed pretty quiet, no crying or whining.”“Did she eat her breakfast well?” Elysia was nursing more eagerly than Maxi expected, so she wondered if she didn’t eat well or if she was just extra hungry.“She ate all of it, like a champ.”“Well I’m glad she was good for you… I was worried about her.”Sidina finished picking up the toys and started gathering her own belongings. “Yeah she was really good, and fun. She’s such a character. Did you and Riftan enjoy the party?”Maxi happily nodded. “We did, it was fun actually, and I was less distracted than I imagined I’d be.”“That’s good.” Sidina slung her bag over her shoulder, looking like she was ready to go. “If you guys don’t need anything else, I think I’m gonna head out.”“Okay, I think that’s it. Thanks so much for watching her.”“Any time Max. Bye munchkin!”“Say bye to aunt Sidina,” Maxi said to Elysia. She remained latched but stuck her little hand in the air and wiggled it.Sidina waved back to both of them, then side stepped around Riftan coming through the door, neither of them saying anything to the other. He tossed down their bags after closing the door and then crossed the room to sit on the couch with Maxi and Elysia. To Maxi’s dismay, Elysia decided she had enough milk and she now wanted cuddles from her daddy.She burrowed her little face against him and got comfortable, Riftan soaked it up and held her tightly to his chest.“So, you think we can l-leave her again?” Maxi jokingly asked.“Absolutely,” Riftan confidently replied. “But it’s not gonna happen, not for a long time. Not until she’s thirty.”“Thirty months?”“Years, Maxi, thirty years.”She laughed and pat him on the knee. “Okay, whatever you say, big daddy.” Then she joined in on the cuddles with them, happy as could be.The End
You can read other stories written by Maiden Liza here:
Fanarts
Here are fanarts drawn and commissioned by the Remdragon Maidens.
Maxi as Sektor the dragon and Riftan as her loyal werewolf.
Sexy Maxi and Sektor.
Riftan as a vampire.
Yummy pumpkin-man Elliot and Merman Ursuline.
Hebaron as a drunk pirate and Gabel as a sexy vampire.
Dr. Elliot Charon.
Sir Elliot as a rockstar band member.
Mr. Ricaydo as a policeman vs Hebaron the thief!
Free-spirited Hebaron.
Mage Ruth Serbel as a library ghost.
Gabel as part of a mafia group. A hot one.
Gabel as a vampire.
Garrow and Ulyseon as pirates.
Plushie costume photos
The maidens have also been working very hard to celebrate Halloween by putting on costumes and doing some photoshoots with the Remdragon knights, Lord and Lady Calypse. Some of them have to be massively persuaded! So we hope everyone enjoys!
Lord and Lady Calypse are welcoming you to the Oak Street, where the Halloween party is.
Lady Calypse as the little red riding hood and Lord Calypse as the big bad wolf.
Riftan and Maxi as Wesley and Buttercup from the Princess Bride.
Gabel as a beach girl.
Ursuline as Mr. Stingy Crab.
Ruth just picked whatever easy... He chose to be a snail.
Hebaron was just being Hebaron... A carrot.
Gabel enjoyed being a vampire!
Ursuline as a policeman.
Chucky Hebaron.
Mummy Elliot is looking for his mummy.
Last message from Lord and Lady Calypse!
Poems
Halloween does not have to be scary, so Remdragon knights are trying to be romantic during this Halloween day by writing poems to you.And Her Ladyship is being sweet to all of us too.
