A Crone and Friends Adventure. Crone and friends celebrate Samhain with the Witches of Grim County.

 Happy Samhain one and all.  Hope you enjoy the story.

I put my cup down and said “You know, we had such fun with Crone and her friends at Beltane, I think we should invite them to join us for our Samhain celebration.”

Stacy looked thoughtful.  “I think that is a wonderful idea.  Let’s do it.”

“I’ll get the messenger bat ready and Cerri can write the invitation.” And Tracy looked at Cerri.

“Tell Ron to bring his War Hammer and Susan to bring Betty Bat, and let Jurni and Elaine know there will be dragon races.”  Kellie remarked.

So the invitation was written and sent.

Dear Crone

We would love to have you and all of your friends join us on Sunday for our Samhain Celebration.  Please tell Ron we are having a hammer throwing contest, and let Elaine and Jurni know there will be dragon races, and Susan might wish to bring Betty Bat for the Bat races.   There will also be broom races. We hope that all of you are doing well and we look forward to you joining us for the fun. The fun starts at noon, but we hope to see you earlier so we can visit and chat for a bit.

                                    Sincerley

The Witches of Grim County, Rhiannon, Cerriwend, Stacy, Tracy and Kellie

 

Crone was busy making her Jack O’Lantern when she heard a flapping noise at the window.  Storm looked at her and barked.  “Yes I heard that too Storm, why don’t you and Mem go see what that noise is.” 

Storm and Mem went to the window and looked out and saw a bat staring back at them.  Storm barked and Mem meowed for Crone.  “Ok, hold on, I will be there in a second.”  Crone looked out and saw the bat clutching an envelope.  She open the window and took the envelope.  “Thank you.” She told the bat. 

Crone opened the envelope and read the message.  “Oh we are invited to Grim County for Samhain.  I better call everyone and let them know.” 

Crone got on her Crystal Ball and called all of her friends.  “I just got a messenger bat from the Witches of Grim County and they are inviting us to their Samhain Celebration.  They said there will be broom racing and they wanted Ron to know there will be a Hammer throwing contest.  Sue, they said for you to bring Betty Bat for the messenger bat races, and for Elaine and Jurni to bring their dragons for the dragon races.  Shall we go?”

Everyone began to talk at once.  “Broom trip!”, “Yay, Dragon races”, “I’m in”, “Well darn it, I can’t go I have the grandchildren.”  “I have family visiting.”

So after discussion they decided that Crone, Ron and Tena, Jurni, Susan, Jennifer, Lyn, Sarah, Janice, Luisa, Tracy, Cindy, Elizabeth L, Elizabeth P and Elouise would be going.  The rest were really disappointed they couldn’t go.

“Crone would you like me to send Pegysue with an answer?” asked Elizabeth P.

“Yes please, and thank you!” replied Crone.

So a message was sent via Pegysue to the Witches of Grim County.

To the Witches of Grim County; Rhiannon, Cerriwend, Tracy, Stacy and Kellie

Thank you so much for the invitation, we look forward to seeing you and joining you for the celebration.  We will be arriving via Brooms, a dragon, a Pegasus and a Broom bus. 

                     Sincerely,

Crone, Ron, Tena, Jurni, Sue, Jennifer, Lyn, Sarah, Janice, Luisa, Tracy, Cindy, Elizabeth L, Elizabeth P and Elouise.

 

Meanwhile, back in Grim County….

“I do hope Crone and her friends are coming, they are such fun folks.” Remarked Tracy.

“I am sure they will”…Stacy started to reply when Bit, Rhiannon’s familiar poked his head around the door and meowed.  “What is it Bit?’ asked Cerri.  Bit meowed some more and turned back and indicated he wanted them to follow him.

Rhiannon went to the door and opened it and saw Pegysue in miniature form holding an envelope in her mouth, which she dropped in Rhiannon’s hand and then turned and flew off.

Rhiannon opened the message and read it.  “Wonderful!  They’re coming!”

 

Samhain morning Grim County was busy.  The Celebration had begun the night before with the Lighting of the Way and bonfires being lit. The finishing touches were being put into motion.  Cerri looked up and said “Incoming visitors.”, As a broom bus, a Pegasus, a dragon and several brooms came in for a landing.  Rhi, Cerri, Kellie, Stacy and Tracy hurried over to greet their friends.

Elizabeth P was dismounting from Pegysue and was dressed as the Goddess Athena.  Jurni who had flown in on Kam her dragon was dressed as Daenerys Targaryen, Tracy who had flown on her own broom was dressed as Galadriel, Lyn also had flown on her own and was dressed as a witch in a black velvet dress with a fur trimmed red cloak, and Janice who had also flown solo was dressed as a Gypsy.  On the Broom bus were Crone, dressed as Morgan LaFey, Ron in his Scottish highlander garb complete with Kilt, Tena as Mary Sanderson from Hocus Pocus, Luisa as Winifred Sanderson and Elouise dressed in a green Medieval Lady costume.  Jennifer was dressed as an Edwardian Lady, Cindy was an Amazon Warrior, Sarah was a black cat, Sue was Batgirl, and Elizabeth L was dressed as a Countess from the Gilded Age.       

“We are so glad you made it” said Rhiannon.  Everyone began to hug each other and exchange chatter.

“Now Sue, I hope you brought Betty Bat so she can join in the messenger bat race, and Ron, I SEE your hammer, so I know you’ll be joining the Hammer Throwing Contest.” Remarked Stacy.

Ron grinned and shifted his hammer back and forth between his hands.  “I am as ready as I ever will be, and I am thinking I have a good shot at winning.”

Tena sighed.  “Him and his hammer.  And nothing must do but I had to fix that damn kilt once more instead of him buying another one.”

“It’s my lucky kilt!”

Sue smiled.  “Betty is ready to race and socialize and make new friends.  She hasn’t had an adventure since the PD wars.”

“Jurni is Kam excited about the Dragon races?  He is such a beauty.”asked Tracy.

Jurni smiled as Kam preened at the compliment.  “He is very excited.  He was disappointed because Elaine and Shield couldn’t make it.  But hopefully he will be able to make some new friends today.”

“There are all kinds of foods and treats.   We have hot buttered Cider, Cotton Candy, Candy Apples, homemade bread with Apple butter, and so on.” Rhiannon smiled at Elouise.  “We even have some soups such as Pumpkin and Squash I think you will like.”

Cerri smiled at everyone.  “Let’s get everyone signed up for the broom and other races.  Then we’ll take you around to the different booths and tell you about some of the things we will be doing before we have the party.”

Elizabeth P smiled.  “Well Elizabeth L and I decided we are going to act like teenagers today and stuff ourselves on Candy Apples and Cotton Candy and whatever else we can find.” And Elizabeth L high-fived Elizabeth P. 

Crone and her friends were wandering around trying out the different foods and treats when suddenly they heard a snobby voice behind them say “OH look at this rag tag bunch of wannabe’s.  Really they just allow anyone to come to the celebration nowadays.”  The friends all looked at each other and said at the same time “Angela!”  They turned around and looked at her and her companion.  Angela sneered “What ARE you all supposed to be?”  Elizabeth L with a look of disdain at Angela replied “Do you need glasses?  Anyone with a brain can see I am a Countess from the Gilded Age, and we have a Scottish highlander, Galadriel, Athena, Morgan LaFey, an Edwardian Lady, a Gypsy, Batgirl, a black cat, Daenerys, a Witch, an Amazon, a medieval lady, and Mary and Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus.  I would get my eyes checked and perhaps a brain scan if I were you.”

“Really!” Angela sniffed.  “I see a bunch of rag tags trying to be somebody.”

“We don’t have to pretend to be anything but ourselves.  Take yourself off Angela we don’t need you to ruin our day.” Said Lyn through clenched teeth.

“Yes, go away” and Elouise waved Angela away.

“You people are so full of yourselves, and you’ve probably never done anything but pretend to be something.”  Angela said snottily. 

Jennifer spoke up.  “We aren’t full of ourselves; obviously you are confusing us with yourself.”

Cindy chimed in.  “We really haven’t done anything but fight Trolls, goblins….”

Tena broke in “Ghouls, Vamps and Zombies.”

Tracy asked “So what have you done or fought Angela, hmmm?”

Angela sniffed and walked away.

The friends all started laughing.  Crone had laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes.  “Great job ladies telling Angela off.”

Sarah said “I thought for a moment Jen was going to whack her with her parasol, or Cindy was going to hit her with her spear over the head.”

“I was going to womp her with my hammer but Tena grabbed my arm.” complained Ron.

The Hammer throwing contest was about to begin and everyone was lining up when Angela shoved her way into line next to Ron.  Ron looked down at the hammer Angela was holding and started to roar with laughter when he saw the small ballpeen hammer she held.  He managed to choke out “You call that a hammer?”  And he doubled over with laughter.  Everyone else in line starting laughing also.  Angela hissed “You all stop laughing right now!” 

And each contestant took their turn throwing their hammers.  Angela drew back her arm and threw and it landed 3 feet away.  Ron began to laugh again and Angela’s face turned red, and she stomped away.  Ron threw his hammer and it flew through the air turning over and over to land 12 feet!  Ron was in the semifinals!

Elouise swallowed the last of her soup and turned to Sue.  “This squash soup is excellent Sue.  You should try it.”

“I will after Betty races.  I am also going to try the Pumpkin; it smelled so nice when Sarah had hers.”  Replied Sue.

“Oh it was delicious.” Agreed Sarah.  “Crone aren’t the broom races next?”

The friends all stood up and headed to the field where the broom races were.

Crone, Janice, Lyn and Tracy were all going to be in the races.  Rhiannon and Cerri walked up to them carrying their own brooms and wished them luck.  “Watch out for Angela, she tries to knock folks off their brooms.”  Cerri told them.  “Just zap her if she tries anything.”

Everyone was hovering on their brooms at the starting line.  Minerva Cook was holding the flag, “On your mark, get set, and GO!”  and she dropped the flag.  The crowd was cheering.  “There goes Crone out in the lead, Tracy and Lyn are right behind her, and Janice is behind them!”  yelled Tena as she jumped up and down.  Pegysue and Kam had been recruited along with some other dragons to be the safety crew, to rescue any flyer that fell off their broom.  And they had their work cut out for them, as Angela was pushing everyone she could off of their brooms!  “Behind you Crone, Janice, Lyn and Tracy!!  Watch out! “screamed Ron as Angela closed in on them.  Crone zipped straight up, and Lyn and Tracy zigged and zagged, but Janice decided she was staying put.  Angela reached over and shoved Janice not once, but twice.  Janice lost her seat for a moment but managed to hang on with her hands.  Kam, who had been talking to a female dragon earlier whose name was Tamaris, gave a worried glance her way.  She flew closer to Janice and gave a little cough next to Angela’s broom.  Suddenly Angela’s broom was on fire and she was screaming as the smoke poured off of the bristles.  Tamaris caught Angela as she dropped.  Meanwhile the crowd was screaming, Crone, Lyn and Tracy had flown back to try and help Janice, who was hanging on to the broom by her hands with the rest of her body dangling below.  “Hang on Janice!” Yelled Crone.   Janice yelled back “I am going to cross that finish line, it’s just ahead, go ahead girls!”  Crone, Lyn and Tracey gave each other worried glances.  They ended up with Crone flying behind Janice and Lyn and Tracy on either side escorting Janice as the winner of the race across the finish line as the crowd screamed and cheered.

Ron gave Janice a hug.  “That was some scary shit girl.  Glad you won.”

“It was scary, but I’ve got some damn good friends, they could have won, but decided to help me win instead.”  And Janice hugged Crone, Tracy and Lyn.

Tena glanced at her watch.  “Well Sue time for you and Betty Bat to win.”  And the friends took off to the field to watch the Bat messenger races.  The owners of the Bats stood at one end of the field, and at the other end the bats were given a message to hold in their feet.  The starting whistle blew and they were off!

The friends were all cheering Betty Bat on!  “Go Betty Go!!  Fly like the wind!”  Sue was waiting at the other end when Betty placed third. 

“Well we aren’t doing too shabby friends. “remarked Tena

“No we aren’t.” replied Elizabeth L

“Ron took 1^st, so did Janice, with Lyn and Tracy tied for second and Crone in 3^rd, and Betty in 3^rd.” stated Elizabeth P.

“And Jurni and Kam have yet to race. “Said Jennifer.

“And speaking of, it’s that time isn’t it Jurni?” asked Cindy.

And now the friends headed over to watch the Dragon races.  Jurni and Kam were thrilled as this was the very first time they were racing against a bunch of other dragons.  The whistle blew and they were off.

“Go Kam go” yelled the friends.   “Well thank the Goddess that Angela isn’t in this race” said Lyn to Tracy. 

“I know.  Goddess only knows what kind of stunt she would try this time! “Replied Tracy and the friends turned back to the race as Kam and Jurni flew into second place.

Rhiannon and Cerri came over to the friends.  “We hope you are enjoying yourselves.” Said Rhiannon.

“We are indeed.” Answered Crone and her friends.

“Now it’s time for more feasting, the honoring of our loved ones and apple bobbing, both in water and on strings, and pumpkin carving.”  Said Cerri.

The friends had stuffed themselves on food, Elouise and Sarah had both placed in the pumpkin carving contest, and everyone had just finished calling upon and honoring their ancestors and loved ones who had gone on.  One could feel the presence of those so honored who had decided to join the festivities. 

People were in line to bob for apples and Angela had just stepped up to try her luck.  Suddenly something seemed to grab her by the hair of her head and push her head into the tub of water with the apples.  And just as suddenly her head was yanked up and she started to scream and once more her head was shoved into the tub.  This went on a few more times and suddenly it stopped and Angela was screeching and yelling about her makeup being ruined when a disembodied voice was heard.  “Really Sister Eva, one would think with that mouth of hers she could have grabbed an apple or 2.”  To which another voice replied, “Sister Pearl, that girl is all talk and no action, and I must say I enjoyed dunking her!”  A chorus of other voices were then heard.  “she deserved that and more”, “She should be ashamed of the actions she has done today.”

A few moments later everyone heard Angela screeching again.  Everyone turned to look.  Somehow Angela had ballooned up to around 400 pounds.  The friends all looked at each other and started giggling.  All at the same time Sue, Elizabeth P, Elizabeth L , Tracy and Lyn said “I guess my spell worked”!   They all looked at each other.  “The gain weight immediately spell?”  And everyone nodded yes and broke out laughing at the same time.  Then Tena remarked, “I guess my spell worked too. I heard a couple of you doing your spell, so I did the clothes expand and fit spell.  I figured otherwise she would have noticed and ran home when her clothes ripped and fell off.” 

Midnight arrived, Samhain was over and the friends went to say their farewells to Rhiannon, Cerri and their cousins.   As everyone got onto or into their mode of transportation they all waved and yelled Goodbye to the Witches of Grim County.  Soon they were all airborne and one could hear shouts of Happy Samhain to all!