Page 33 of Monster's Delight

“Perfect Halloween costume, isn’t it?” Hazel grinned at me, the mask stretching along with her lips, but not perfectly, so it turned into a grotesque form.

I shuddered. “Definitely in the spirit of the night. I have to say, when you first told me your costume, I was worried you couldn’t pull it off, but seeing this has changed my mind. You’re awesome!”

“I know.” Hazel grinned at me. “Your turn.”

I quickly ate my last bite while Hazel sat down to finish eating her own dinner. After a quick cleansing spell on my hands, I went to my tiny closet and pulled out the dress. Even shrunken and without petticoats, it was quite obviously voluminous.

I’d gone with a complex swan theme, lots of lace, frills, and sparkling gems hidden within the folds of the material. A growth spell later, I was holding the full gown by the shoulders, the skirts swishing on the floor.

“Oh my gosh!” Hazel said slowly. “That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! How did you manage to make that?”

“I had alotof help from Una,” I admitted readily. “She explained how to do things, and I would come back here and try to replicate them. The seams aren’t perfect, but they’ll stay together, and that’s the most important thing.”

“For sure.” Hazel made a ‘hurry up’ gesture with her hands. “What are you waiting for? Put it on!”

“Oh! Yeah, okay.” I stripped before stepping into the dress, pulling it up over my hips. Next, I slid my arms into the gauzy sleeves. The gown situated comfortably on my body, I pulled up the zipper with my magic, wondering as I did so how humans would manage to deal with the impossible to reach zipper.

“It looks so light!” Hazel said, admiring it. “I always thought the clothes from the seventeen hundreds had lots of layers.”

“Oh, they do. Did, rather. But I didn’t want to worry about chemises and petticoats and all that. I’m not a witch for nothing.” I smiled mischievously and made my skirts puff out as if I were wearing a hoop underneath. “Would you be willing to help me with my hair? I have a picture of what I want to do with it, but you’re so much better at hair styles than I am.”

“Of course.”

I coached Hazel through the pompadour-like up-do that I wanted around the ridiculously high swan fascinator that I had created.

After Hazel was satisfied that my hair was doing what the picture showed, she smiled. “One more finishing touch,” she said, and suddenly my red hair was white!

“What did you do?” I gasped, turning my head as if it would help me see my hair better in the mirror.

“They always wore powdered wigs back then. I just powdered your hair.” Hazel shrugged. “It seemed easier to do it that way. I’ll turn it back tonight before bed.”

Reassured that it wasn’t permanent, I calmed down. “Thank you.” I pulled out the diamond necklace that I had obsessed over.

“But Marie Antoinette never wore that necklace!” Hazel said with a gasp.

“I know.” I clasped it around my neck, and arranged the dangling diamonds across my upper chest. The lowest one dipped low toward my cleavage, which was emphasized by the low décolletage of the gown. “I thought it would be nice to wear them anyway.”

“It certainly looks stunning with that dress,” Hazel said admiringly. “What about the mask?”

“I can’t believe I almost forgot about the mask!” I exclaimed. The white mask was almost simple in comparison to the rest of my costume, but I had covered it with lace and scattered gems across it like freckles. A press of the domino mask over my eyes and a whispered spell, and it stayed in place.

While I was slipping my feet into white ballet slippers, Hazel was staring at the wall, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“I feel rather underdressed compared to you,” she said at last. “Maybe I should change my costume?”

“Don’t you dare!” I told her vehemently. “But I’ve only seen your mask. What are you planning on wearing on your body?”

“I was just going to wear jeans and a t-shirt.”

“Humans dress up too. Why don’t you wear something a little more formal?” I suggested.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

We rifled through Hazel’s closet, finally deciding on a form-fitting, long-sleeved, collared black dress. It would cover most of her skin, so she would pass as a human unless someone looked too closely at her hands. I let her borrow a long silver chain necklace to wear as a belt that would break up all the black of the dress.

“You look stunning,” I said, pulling her in front of the mirror. “Beautiful.”

“Thank you for your help,” Hazel said shyly.

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