A Fox Surrounded in Darkness (Twisted Wonderland x Encanto f!reader)

Chapter 45

"Hello, Epel. Y/n," Riddle greets, as he approaches us. "You both seem to be enjoying yourselves."

"Riddle?!" Epel was shocked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make such a scene."

"Hello, Riddle," I wave to him with a smile.

"It's fine, Epel, so long as you avoid breaching norms of acceptable conduct," Riddle dismisses Epel's apology. "Are Halloween decorations like these really that extraordinary to you?"

"Yes," Epel exclaims. "There weren't many other kids my age back at home, so our school event was pretty low-key. This is the first time I've seen Halloween decorations as awesome as these! Oh, and I really like how the Heartslabyul students transformed your garden into a graveyard. It's so realistic, like Y/n's costume."

"Naturally," Riddle smiles at the observation of his dorm's work. "I would never allow our dorm to be outdone. But going back to the topic at hand, did you not celebrate Halloween much in your hometown? It's a fairly major holiday in Twisted Wonderland. I can understand Y/n's confusion about it."

"Thanks," I sigh.

"It's not like we didn't celebrate it at all," Epel shakes his head. "We had a party at my house every year. But it was more of an event to gear up for the apple harvest rather than a true celebration of Halloween. About forty or so relatives and people from the neighborhood would gather at my place and go wild. It could get pretty loud."

"You had that many people come to your house," Riddle exclaims. "It must have been a nightmare setting the table."

"Not really," Epel dismisses Riddle's assumption. "We just put the food on one table, and then everyone ate while standing around."

"Ah, so it was a stand-and-mingle soirée with buffet-style dining," Riddle holds his chin to think.

"I...guess you could call it that, yeah," Epel slightly nods his head,not sure if Riddle completely understands. "Basically, we'd all just pick at the giant platter of food my grandmother made." Reminds me of eating meals with the Madrigals.

"Stop right there," Riddle demands, and I sigh. So he wasn't understanding it at all. "You all ate from the same plate?! So there was no set single serving size? But then how would you know how much is polite to eat?"

"It's fine," Epel smiles. "Everyone just ate as much as they wanted. That's all there was to it. Oh, right! I forgot to mention the best part. Every Halloween, Grandma would always make a whole cauldron of pumpkin pudding! It tasted so good, it made me wanna slap my mama!"

"I would love to slap my mom," I cheer.

"You would strike your own mother?!" Riddle took a few steps back in shock.

"Oh, I mean, not literally," Epel laughs. "It's just a figure of speech we use when something's really good."

"Mierda, pensé que realmente lo habría hecho," I mutter to myself.

"Quite the...colorful expression," Riddle says. "Well, talking about it has certainly riled you up. You must really love your hometown."

"I do," Epel smiles. "It's a really great place. The food's delicious and everyone's laid back. I guess I AM going to miss not being able to celebrate Halloween at home this year. But celebrating it here at Night Raven College is so new to me. I'm really excited for it. It's hard for me to choose between the two."

"If you ask me, that sounds like a good problem to have," Riddle chuckles.

"I guess it is," Epel says. "So how did you celebrate Halloween at your house, Riddle?"